Childhood
by Taivasalla
Summary: Sarutobi said ANBU was no place for a child, but a brotherhood of killers is more of a family than Naruto ever had. Now, with war looming and intravillage tension threatening his fragile world, even this may not last. Not super!Naruto.
1. Home

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto_. This was written for entertainment purposes only._

Description: Canon-divergent story. Takes place five years post Kyuubi.

A/N: Currently doing a massive re-edit of this story. Please excuse any inconsistencies between revised and unrevised portions.

* * *

Childhood

The sun blazed bright gold through the open windows of the Hokage's office. Summer warmth threaded its way even into the deep ravines of Sarutobi's wrinkled hands, easing the aches of worn joints and the onset of arthritis. Though he was faced with a mountain of paperwork three hours high, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure spared a moment for the joy of a summer afternoon. He breathed in the scent of heated earth and leaves, a faint tinge of wood smoke, a whiff of compost. Even the sounds of his village floated up on the gentle breeze: a laugh here, the clatter of a cart there. A light rap on his office door. "Come in," he called out, straightening the official hat where it lay, abandoned, on his desk.

A tall man slid into the room, moving as if neither gravity's decree nor the limitations of joints and bones applied to him. The handle of a sword protruded from behind one shoulder, but he cradled a little boy against the other, soft arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Naruto!" Sarutobi exclaimed, rising to his feet and hurrying around the desk. "What happened?" he demanded of the ANBU.

The ninja knelt and placed the child on his feet. His bright yellow hair was dulled with dirt as he turned a tear-stained face towards the one adult who always had a smile for him. But he didn't run to bury his face in the white robes and receive a comforting hug. Instead his arms wrapped firmly around a black-clad leg and he tucked his cheek into the curve of the man's knee. The ninja patted his back with one gloved hand and turned the beaked mask covering his face up to the man who stood above him. "Sasaki locked him out of the house. Again. He wanted to come see you."

Sarutobi braced a hand against the desk. "I thought the physical attempts had ended with that last group." He rubbed at the ache beginning to grow inside his skull. The heat suddenly felt oppressive.

"Most decent adults can't stand violence against a child. It was children this time. I don't know if Sasaki was afraid to open the door, or just didn't care."

"What age?" Sarutobi bent down to put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, but the boy twitched away towards the crouched figure next to him.

The ANBU slid an arm around Naruto's thin shoulders. "Maybe eight or nine? Still in Academy; no forehead protectors. I drove them off as soon as I could, but he's kind of shaken up."

Sarutobi nodded in comprehension. "Hey, Naruto. You want to take a look in the bottom drawer of my desk? There might be something there for you."

The whiskered face lifted from the dark fabric of the ANBU's leg. "Ramen?" he piped. Sarutobi grinned, and Naruto let go completely.

The ANBU watched as Naruto hurried over to the drawer and pulled it open. Though he had been anticipating a bowl of steaming ramen, the chocolate candy stashed in the left corner was almost as appreciated. Naruto chomped into the sweet nugget, and a grin slowly returned to his smudged face. "Hokage-sama," the ANBU began quietly. "I think he's old enough now that he could live at—"

"No." Anger flashed a spark in the Hokage's tired eyes. "I thought I made my decision on that clear already. ANBU is no place for a child to grow up."

"Neither is where he is now." The intensity in the ninja's voice growled deep in the bass registers of his voice. "His only friends shouldn't be a ninja who can't show him his face and the leader of his village. We're not enough for him."

"And how would ANBU fix that? A hundred ninja who can't show him their faces? No, Falcon-san. ANBU will guard him. That is _all_."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I apologize."

Sarutobi sighed heavily. "I understand your concern, Falcon-san. But ANBU is not the solution. I will see if Maeda-san can make room for him to stay with her for now."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Briefly, behind his mask, the ANBU closed his eyes. Maeda would be no different.

* * *

Four days later, the glory of summer sun had degenerated into summer thunderstorms. Rain dripped from Falcon's scruffy brown hair and rolled off his slate-grey cloak as he knocked again at the Hokage's office door. The cloak was supposed to be waterproof. It was only shedding water now because the saturated cloth could not absorb any more.

Focused on his goal, Falcon seemed not to notice the wet. Chakra roiled under his skin, dark and angry. "Hokage-sama," he grated out as he stepped into the office.

From where he stood at the shelves of books and scrolls along one wall, Sarutobi met his anger with a chakra-presence of his own. "Falcon-san."

With a palpable effort, the ANBU reined in his emotion, realizing his challenge to the Hokage who watched him guardedly from across the room. "You are needed at the hospital, Hokage-sama."

"Falcon-san, I'm quite busy," Sarutobi said calmly. He softened his chakra warning now that the ANBU had settled. "Would you care to explain why?"

"Naruto."

Sarutobi's chakra flared, and Falcon flinched. The old man shoved a volume back into its place on the shelves and swept towards the door, his pale robes swirling around him in elegant counterpoint to the black rage drenching the air.

The Hokage reined in his aura when he reached the little hospital room. Smoothing his features by force of will, Sarutobi almost wished he still had his own porcelain mask to hide behind. The ANBU followed his lead and dampened his chakra.

But the Hokage's tight control nearly slipped when Falcon slid the door open. Naruto lay like a doll between the starched white sheets, his tiny body dwarfed by the hospital bed. His blue eyes were open, staring silently at the ceiling. He turned his head as Sarutobi faltered in the doorway. The Hokage recollected himself quickly and stepped confidently inside. "Hello, Naruto."

The boy smiled brightly at him. "Hey, old man." But then as Sarutobi shed his rain cloak and sat down on the edge of Naruto's bed, tears bubbled up in his wide eyes. Sarutobi let him sob into his shoulder, looping his arms around him. He tipped his head sideways and laid his cheek on Naruto's soft spikes of hair.

The ANBU stood quietly by the door, resting a hand casually on his kunai holster. Sounds in the hall kept catching at his attention; he was ill at ease. ANBU trained its agents to eliminate the problem and get the job done at any cost. Now the problem was Konoha's citizens, and nothing he knew how to do applied. Naruto was crying, tears but no sound, the suppressed grief of someone much older. And after a few minutes, he scrubbed the moisture from his cheeks and pecked a kiss on Sarutobi's cheek. His split lip had reopened when he tried to smile, and red blood smudged on the old man's skin.

When Sarutobi finally stood, saying a few last reassuring words to Naruto, he curved a finger at the ANBU. Falcon followed him out. "And where were you?" Sarutobi barked out in the hall. The sliding door shut Naruto out of the conversation, and Sarutobi let the anger back into his eyes. "Your job is to prevent things like this, is it not, ANBU-san?"

Falcon's red and white mask remained in its perpetual porcelain scowl. "It is, Hokage-sama."

"Then what were you doing?"

"Checking Maeda's house."

"You didn't send a bunshin to do it? Or to stay with him?"

Falcon's shoulders stiffened. "My bunshin don't have that sort of range, Hokage-sama," he said, clipping the words off sharply. It was a sore point with him.

Sarutobi changed the subject instead of continuing to second-guess the ninja's judgment, even though Falcon would never argue the subject with his Hokage. There were more important issues at hand. "Was it the same children as last time?"

"No." Behind his mask, Falcon's lips drew off his teeth. "They're not going to bother him again." The Hokage's eyes sharpened and his mouth turned down at the tone in the ANBU's voice. But Falcon was still speaking. "It was the same situation, though, Hokage-sama. The children emulate what they see the adults doing. Most of the adults don't see Naruto as a person, so he loses that status in the eyes of the younger generation. If he's not human, they can do whatever they want to him. And _none_ of them see him any other way. So no matter how many individuals I stop from bullying him, hurting him, there will always be more."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "That's some heavy psychoanalysis, ANBU-san."

Falcon heard the implied _and how are you qualified to make those assumptions?_ "I spoke to a friend about this a while back."

"Indeed?"

"Morino Ibiki."

"Ah, yes. He's more than familiar with the workings of the human mind. So you're saying that until Naruto proves himself as a person to everyone in the village, this will never end?"

"Not entirely, no."

"I am well aware of the villagers' opinions and actions against Naruto, Falcon-san. I had hoped that it might get better for him if we gave it time." Falcon's studious silence told Sarutobi just how naïve the ninja thought depending on the goodness of humanity was. "What makes you think it will be any different in ANBU?"

Barely visible through the thin slits in the bird face, Falcon's eyes widened. Hokage himself was bringing that possibility up. "It couldn't be worse." The Hokage frowned at the lip, and Falcon hurried on, willing himself not to lose this chance. "ANBU is structured. We obey rules. And we understand duty more than the average civilian, Hokage-sama." He drew half a breath, pausing. "Also, my captain said once that the Yondaime wanted the village to treat Naruto as a hero. Maybe that's impossible, but I know at least some people at ANBU will see him as a person, not a cage. And that's what he needs most of all."

Sarutobi gave the ANBU a long, assessing look. "The arrangement with Maeda and Sasaki is not working. We can both see that." He shot a pained glance at the bedroom at their backs. "So Naruto can stay for a month at the ANBU headquarters. In that time, I will find a better family for him to stay with. When I do so, he will return to them. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"And Falcon-san. Civilians have hurt him, but do not forget that one ANBU could kill him. If he comes to harm, I _will_ hold you personally responsible."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

After Sarutobi left, Falcon ran a hand over his short hair, realizing too late that he was still soaking wet. He shook his hand. Drops of water sprayed into the air. Behind the hooked beak, Falcon grinned. Naruto finally had a second chance. Not a new start, because he would always carry the curse of his history, but an opportunity for that not to be all that mattered.

A face flashed in front of his eyes—his older sister, kneeling in the dirt of her garden, a curl of brown hair falling into her eyes as she tipped her head back to laugh. His chest tightened. She was five years in the grave, her infant son buried beside her. The Kyuubi couldn't ever _not matter_; even Naruto being its jailor couldn't ever _not matter_. But as quickly as her face had come, he thought of bright yellow hair and a grin as wide as Fire country. _Jinchuuriki_ should come second to _Naruto._

They all had their own losses; even in ANBU, no one had escaped that disaster unscathed. But the pain was half a decade old, time enough for scars to fade and rents in the heart to begin to knit over. Blond hair and whiskers might touch the old wounds, but they were no longer raw. ANBU would accept him. Perhaps too many years of war and destruction had twisted his perception, but despite the Sandaime's reluctance, Falcon believed that if Naruto had to grow up soaked in blood, it was better that it not be his own.


	2. Welcome

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This was written for entertainment purposes only._

* * *

True to the fickle nature of a Fire Country summer, the sun was shining the next day, climbing bright and golden into the blue sky. Sweat beaded on the back of Falcon's neck and along his hairline as he walked down the winding and unshaded streets. He was used to carrying heavy weights long distances—hell, any shinobi was—but there was a rule about little children that they got heavier the longer you carried them.

Naruto, despite possessing an almost inhuman amount of irrepressible energy, had decided halfway from the hospital to the ANBU complex that he was tired. Falcon's attempt at resistance had crumbled under the onslaught of blue eyes. He hadn't gone quite as far as pouting, but it hadn't been far off, the ANBU was sure. A bead of salty moisture skulked down beside Falcon's ear, just far enough inside the edge of his mask that he couldn't reach to brush it away.

And once again, the concrete monstrosity of Konoha's Black Ops Headquarters loomed into his view as a sweet haven. He grimaced under his mask at that. ANBU was a hulking, hideous construction of grey blocks and unfinished steel, and he loved it. The atrocity squatted in the northwestern corner of Konoha, backed against the cliff of the Hokage monument. Nothing so obvious as a fence of barbed wire surrounded it, but civilians and shinobi alike avoided it as if one did.

He pointed for Naruto's benefit. "That's it, kid." The grasping tendrils of early morning light gilded the steel girders in gold. The walls almost glowed, as if someone had decided to coat the coarse concrete with a cadmium wash. Just as toxic, too. Falcon hated the architect of that building in the mornings.

"It's ugly," Naruto declared emphatically, peering over Falcon's shoulder at his new home.

"It sure as hell is," Falcon agreed.

Naruto began squirming, pushing skinny arms against Falcon's armored back. "Put me down," he demanded. "I wanna walk."

He set the kid down carefully, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder. Naruto pulled away and sprinted, completely unintimidated, towards the building, legs churning wildly. A smile tugged at Falcon's lips as he watched the boy's uninhibited antics. A few long steps caught him up to the escapee, and he followed the boy to the doorway at a sedate jog.

The entrance to ANBU was a doublewide metal door, flanked on either side by a window of shatterproof glass. The heavy hinges were greased daily, and the doors never locked. They swung inwards at a fingertip's touch. It was the one detail he congratulated the designers for, and one they had made sure to account for when ANBU finally got the funds to construct its own space. Falcon could remember too many times he had opened the doors by falling into them, too exhausted to go a step further. Also the times, certainly worse, when his hands had been occupied holding a body to his back, not even knowing if it was still alive or not. Those were the memories of nightmares.

He shook those thoughts from his head. Naruto was straining at the doors, trying to pull them open with his five-year-old strength. Falcon reached over his head and pushed gently on the right leaf. It began to swing silently inward and Naruto giggled in embarrassment before throwing his full weight against the door. Under his mask, Falcon grinned, and they stepped together into the dim foyer.

The lobby, with its personal mop closet and tiled floor, was the next unique feature. But at least the eyesore of a building had damn good insulation, and Falcon basked in the relief of cool air against his overheating skin. At a desk set back a few meters from the door, a man in civilian garb was chatting casually with the uniformed ANBU on duty. Falcon's smile faltered. The man on the close side of the counter tossed his head back in a laugh, brown hair skimming his shoulders in an expressive curtain. He was out of uniform, but this was ANBU's Frog.

Falcon wondered for a quick moment if there wasn't something wrong with a situation in which he dreaded seeing his best friend. But there was so much wrong with the premise to begin with, it didn't bear thinking about.

Kyuubi had killed Frog's entire family, which was why Falcon had hoped Naruto could settle in a little before meeting him. Only Frog's youngest brother had survived the attack; evacuated to the hospital, it had taken him four weeks to die. Snatching moments from the overload of missions forced on the heavily depleted shinobi forces to sit by his side, Frog had watched his beloved sibling die by inches. His lungs had been burned beyond repair, and he slowly caved to agony not even the strongest painkillers could truly dampen.

The boy had been seven years old when Frog had put him in the ground.

He was alone now. And though he was not an unreasonable man, when he was lucid, nor a cruel one, he had lost so much.

Frog turned to glance at the door when Falcon stepped inside. The desk attendant reached automatically for the scroll of agents on missions. Falcon waved him off with a casual clarification. "In-village." The shinobi nodded, and dug a different list from a drawer.

Naruto was turning in circles, trying to see everything at once. Not that there was much to see: the desk, its attendant, the door they'd entered by—wide enough for a stretcher team to pass easily, and three smaller doorways leading deeper into the building. The floor was tiled in drab off-white, the walls painted in an equally monotonous green. A closet was tucked cleverly into the junction of two walls, the seams of the door barely visible, and so outlined in brilliant white paint.

Frog lifted a hand to wave at his friend. "Hey, Raidou!" he called.

"I'm in uniform, idiot," Falcon reproved, tapping his mask with an exaggerated flick of his wrist.

Frog laughed. "Well, I'm not, Falcon-chan. I've got a date," he explained smugly.

"With who?" Falcon asked, curiously. The desk attendant chuckled quietly, as if he was in on a joke.

"Hayate." Frog smirked at his friend's obvious astonishment. The senbon in his mouth quirked upwards.

"He's in a relationship, Genma. Are you corrupting little Hayate-kun?"

Genma, ANBU's Frog, grimaced. "Hell no. Yuugao would punch me into next week. I lost a bet with him."

The ANBU at the desk chipped in. "Genma bet that Yuugao-san wouldn't kiss Hayate in public. Loser pays for dinner." He snickered. "She did it."

The defeated ANBU scrunched up his face and leaned lazily against the edge of the desk. "She did more than that. Middle of the marketplace on Thursday. You should have seen the two of them, Raidou."

"How did he get Uzuki-san to agree to that?" Falcon asked. "She's so...I don't know, proper, I guess is the word."

"Stuck up?" Genma suggested. "Hayate just told her that I bet she wouldn't. I think she likes to spite me." He shrugged. "But now I owe Hayate and Yuugao food. We agreed breakfast, instead of dinner, 'cause I've got a mission. She's going to make it hell...Hey, you want to come?"

"Sorry, I've got to get the little guy here settled in. He'll be staying at HQ for a month or so. Maybe longer."

Genma flipped the senbon up a bit, then rolled it to the other side of his mouth. "I was wondering about him." His eyes tracked the scurrying form as the child investigated all the corners of the room. The call of the great unknown had lured Naruto from Falcon's side, and not a centimeter would remain unexamined. "Who is he?"

The ninja at the desk interrupted. "Falcon-san, you know you can't bring unauthorized personnel in here."

"I've got the Hokage's permission," Falcon assured him. "Hey, Naruto-kun, come over here a minute."

He watched Genma as he spoke. The moment he said Naruto's name, his friend tensed. Light brown eyes narrowed, and his teeth clenched around the weapon between them. Naruto ran over, blue eyes sparkling. "ANBU-nii-san!"

Genma's muscles loosened as Naruto approached, but Falcon was not reassured. His friend was dropping into a defensive stance, hands spread and relaxed, ready to grab a weapon or form seals at a moments notice.

The little boy stopped in front of Falcon, tipping his head back to send a happy grin towards his new friend.

Genma spoke. His voice, usually smooth and charming, rasped like metal over stone. "What have you done, Raidou?"

"Genma, this is Uzumaki Naruto. He—"

"I have to go, Raidou," he interrupted harshly. Genma never took his eyes from the boy's whiskered face, now peering fearfully at him from behind Falcon's knee. "Hokage's orders or not," he began, but broke the sentence off. Keeping his face carefully blank, he hurried out.

Falcon crouched down on the floor when the doors swung shut behind Genma. The little boy was biting his lip, looking at the floor. "I should go away, ANBU-nii-san," he whispered. "I should go far away, shouldn't I?" He wasn't crying, but the hopeless, slack expression on his face was worse than tears. "That's what everybody says."

Falcon cupped his hand around Naruto's chin and lifted his face. Naruto's eyes were dull, turned inwards against the truth. They were eyes that often walked through those double doors; the rookie on his first solo assassination, coming back with the blood of a child soaking through his vest and deep into his skin; the veteran with three sets of dog tags around his neck and two shattered masks, still smelling of new paint, in his hands. They were Genma's eyes when he stood in the ashes of his home with not even bodies left to bury, eyes that had died once again when his brother took one last, shuddering breath. They were not the eyes for children to be carrying.

Raidou pushed back his mask, and gathered Naruto into his arms, pressing the dandelion-soft head to his shoulder. "You should stay right here, Naruto. You belong here."

"But he hates me," Naruto mumbled.

"It's not you, Naruto-kun," Raidou said truthfully. "Genma doesn't get along with a lot of people." Not exactly an untruth; Genma had a personal vendetta against all of Earth country. "I'm sure you two can become friends." He hoped desperately that his awkward words would be enough.

And Naruto smiled. His eyes lit up like the sun reflected in a trout pond, bright blue and full of life. "Okay, ANBU-nii-san. Hey, you have a face!"

Raidou grinned back. "Of course I have a face, Naruto-kun." _I just don't like it very much_—squash that thought before it grows any further. "And since I'm off duty now, I don't have to wear the mask anymore. You know what, let's go get you a room. Then, how about lunch?"

"Ramen!" Naruto shouted. He jumped into the air, nearly smashing his head into Raidou's newly exposed face. "Ramen ramen ramen!"

"Okay, we'll get ramen," Raidou chuckled. He glanced quickly at the desk attendant's masked face, and knew that news of Naruto's arrival would soon be spread throughout ANBU. But that was okay. One problem at a time. And right now, the problem was a hyperactive, ramen-craving ball of sunshine and sky. "Calm down, Naruto! Ramen comes _later_."

Raidou had seen broken shinobi. A decade ago he had patched Genma together, as someone had later stitched up his own shattered soul. Naruto was not broken yet, and Raidou blessed the fates that had spared him. Staring into those innocent eyes, Raidou swore to himself that he would do everything possible to keep the little boy whole.


	3. First Day

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...still. This was written for entertainment purposes only._

* * *

Raidou stood up as Naruto sprinted to the nearest door. "Hey, this one," he shouted, pointing to a different door. The boy hurried to the right exit, grinning madly.

"Knew that," he chirped.

Raidou lifted an eyebrow. Naruto had never been in ANBU before, so he obviously couldn't have known. "If you're going to lie, do it believably," he advised.

Naruto pushed at the door. It didn't budge. Raidou smirked. "Pull, Naruto-kun."

"But I did that before, and I had to push it!"

"This one's different." A flight of stairs appeared behind the door, wide and brightly lit. "The quartermaster's office is downstairs. That's where we're going." They started down the steps. At the first landing, Raidou stopped, reaching for the door. But Naruto continued leaping downwards. "Hey!" Raidou shouted.

"Can't catch me!" Naruto squealed, giggling madly and taking the turn of the stairs at an unhealthy speed.

The boy slammed to a halt when Raidou appeared in front of him, without even a whisper of air. "You're going to have to get a lot faster if you want that to be true," he informed Naruto. "And this level is off-limits."

Naruto pouted. "Why?"

"Because the torture division is down there," Raidou said matter-of-factly. "They don't like being interrupted."

Naruto listened to the explanation, decided he didn't get it, but that these people didn't sound nice. So he ignored the issue. "You're fast," he declared. "Teach me to be fast."

Raidou began walking up the steps again, his arm extended to push Naruto back up as well. "It's not quite that simple," he began. "There's a lot of other stuff you have to learn first. You sure you want to do that?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm going to be a ninja. And ninja have to be fast! So teach me."

Raidou shrugged. "Maybe if you're good."

In the hallway, finally, Raidou pointed out the various rooms of the first basement level. "Mission room—that would be where the squads go over mission assignments, so if the door is closed, don't go in--another mission room, storage closet, mission room, storage closet."

Naruto was bored. Finally, "Quartermaster's office. Here we are." Raidou knocked lightly on the door, then pushed it open.

The quartermaster of ANBU was thirty-two years old, and one of the most feared members of the organization (excluding the head of T and I, and his favorite apprentice, Morino Ibiki). The quartermaster's office was sacred ground, and he ruled absolutely in his kingdom. Raidou knew fearless hunter-nin who would refuse to pick up their own armor from him after they got on his bad side.

He looked up when the door opened, and smiled at Raidou. "Come on in," he offered, waving a hand in invitation. "I just have to finish this, then I'll be right with you." He then proceeded to ignore his visitors completely as he finished rewrapping the hilt of a battered katana.

Raidou put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to drag the curious boy back from the shelves lining the walls. He pouted, his hand grasping the air in front of a particularly shiny set of shuriken. "I want to see them!" he protested. "I won't break them, I promise."

"See the yellow box?" Raidou asked, pointing at the dot of paint adorning the wooden container.

Naruto nodded. "So?" He wriggled under Raidou's hand. "Stop grabbing me," he protested.

"Stop doing stupid things," Raidou shot back. "Yellow means poison."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "That's so cool!"

Raidou snorted. "You need to meet Yuugao." Creepy poison specialists. He yanked Naruto back from the box again. "Don't touch them, idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!" Naruto screeched. "I'm going to be a better ninja than you!"

Raidou flinched. "Be quiet," he shushed. Apparently he needed more practice addressing children.

The quartermaster finally moved, sheathing the katana and sliding it onto a shelf next to the table. Then he stood with the dull clunk of wood. "What can I do for you, Raidou-san? And..." He peered at the child's whiskered face, recognizing him immediately.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said proudly, sticking out his chest. "Greatest ninja in Konoha!"

"Is that so?" Quartermaster said with a grin. He caught Raidou's wry face, and his mouth quirked a little more. _He did save the village._

Raidou thought he could tell what the older man was thinking. Quartermaster was one of the reasons he had been so certain ANBU would be better for Naruto than a civilian home. The man stumped around the table, stopping in front of Naruto. "You must be great if you're in ANBU so young. I don't think I have a mask small enough," he joked. "Even Hatake-brat waited until he was fourteen."

Raidou flinched a little at hearing his captain referred to as 'Hatake-brat.' Not because it wasn't true—it was actually a good description—but because Kakashi would sulk if he heard. Sulky captain was not good for the rest of the team.

Naruto had puffed up even more if possible. "Yeah, I'm going to be super-great," he proclaimed, waving his arms animatedly.

Quartermaster nodded amiably. "So what did you want, Raidou?"

"Naruto's going to be living here awhile. Is there an empty set of rooms he could have?"

"412 is still open," he said promptly. "If you want him close to you."

"That's great," Raidou said with relief. "I thought Aoba's new guy might have gotten that room."

"Nah," Quartermaster shrugged. "I gave him 307. Hey, any news on a replacement for your team?"

Raidou shook his head. "Not yet," he said tersely.

A sudden crash caught the two shinobi's attention. "Naruto!"

The boy poked his head up from under the heap of black shirts. "Hey, ANBU-nii-san!"

"I'll pick it up," Raidou insisted, as Quartermaster turned towards the mess. He piled the shirts back into their box, Naruto's folding more of a hindrance than a help. Quartermaster waited patiently for them to finish. Naruto sat on the floor, grinning up at the man as Raidou slid the box back onto the shelf.

"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed all of a sudden. "You have a wooden leg!" With his back to the room, Raidou lifted his eyes to the ceiling. He wasn't the only one who needed to learn tact.

"Yep."

"Why?" Naruto shimmied across the floor to poke his nose closer.

"Because my other one fell off."

"How?" Naruto breathed, his eyes wide.

Raidou tensed. But Quartermaster just grinned. "I didn't eat my vegetables."

The ANBU agent relaxed. He had been right to trust in his friend. Naruto was gaping at the tall man, unaware that it was not a lack of vegetables, but the monster sealed in his abdomen that had ripped Quartermaster's leg off the day Naruto was born, cutting short the promising career of a man everyone said would be a Captain someday.

But Quartermaster had always blessed the Kyuubi's container. He had been a good friend of Yondaime, but more than that, he credited Naruto with saving his life, the life of his daughter, and the rest of the village.

Raidou bowed slightly to Quartermaster. The man flashed a quick smile, then turned to a locked cupboard and fished out a set of keys. "Here, room 412."

"Thanks. See you later, sir."

"Of course. And come see me again, Naruto-kun."

Raidou held open the door for the little imp to exit. He tossed Naruto the set of keys. "Don't lose those. Quartermaster might be a nice guy, but he's hell if you lose stuff."

Naruto nodded. "He has a wooden leg," he whispered. "I didn't know vegetables could do that."

* * *

After a lunch of ramen, Raidou brought the boy back to headquarters. He gave Naruto the full tour, excluding Ibiki's extensive and mentally scarring basement lair. Naruto's eyes were wide by the time Raidou stopped in front of the cafeteria. "It's huge," he repeated, having expressed the sentiment several times in the last few hours.

Raidou just nodded, ushering Naruto towards the food counter. It was early yet for dinner, though ANBU rarely ate at scheduled times, and the cafeteria was mostly deserted. Over in one corner, someone had fallen asleep next to a cold bowl of soup, his mask askew. Raidou gave him a cursory glance, checking for blood. But the man was just tired, not avoiding the medics after a mission. Next to the windows, two kunoichi talked in low voices, a scroll spread out between them and their trays.

Naruto peered at the food offerings with a little disappointment. "No ramen?" he queried, putting on puppy eyes.

"You had ramen for lunch," Raidou said, unmoved. "Try the stir-fry." That, at least, was usually edible. Naruto wisely avoided the brown lumps in the strangely green sauce, but Raidou did dump a pile of cabbage on his plate. When Naruto grimaced, he said wickedly, "You want your legs to fall off?"

Naruto paled, and when they sat down, he shoveled the cabbage into his mouth like it was an S-ranked mission.

No one disturbed them during dinner, and Naruto was tired enough afterwards that he agreed to go straight to bed. All of Naruto's things were still at Maeda's house, so Raidou found him an old t-shirt to wear to bed. The yellow shirt reached to the floor, but Naruto was too exhausted to complain. Raidou stood awkwardly by as he climbed into bed, pulling the dark blue blankets over himself. "Well, good night," he offered. He had heard parents sometimes tucked their kids in at night, but he wasn't sure how to do it.

Naruto didn't seem to expect anything, however, so Raidou waited stiffly in the center of the room, until the boy mumbled "G'night," his eyes already closed and mouth slightly open against his pillow.

Hayate was waiting in the hall when Raidou shut Naruto's door lightly behind himself. Raidou acknowledged his teammate with a glance, then pulled two scraps of paper from his hip pouch. A character was drawn on each, and he pasted them carefully to the doorposts. Now, if anyone tried to get into Naruto's room, he would know.

Raidou crossed the hall to his own door, three steps down to the left. Hayate followed him, leaning casually against the wall as Raidou unlocked his door. Uninvited, he followed his sempai in.

"What do you want, Hayate?"

The younger ninja sat down cross-legged on Raidou's bed, the only remotely soft piece of furniture in the apartment. Raidou rested a hip against the desk against one wall, and crossed his arms. Hayate pasted a grin on his face. "Yuugao and I had breakfast with Genma today."

"Uh-huh."

Hayate decided to drive straight to the point. "He said Uzumaki is living here."

"Yes."

"Is that wise?"

"Yes." Raidou looked coolly at his teammate. Gekkou Hayate was barely seventeen years old, just past his rookie year in ANBU. He had been a genin when Kyuubi attacked, but Yondaime had kept the genin away from the main fight, where they would have been slaughtered. Hayate had no personal grievances with the Kyuubi, beyond the friends that everyone had lost.

Hayate didn't have anything against Uzumaki. But Genma had been on edge the whole day, and while that was not odd in itself, he hadn't complained once about his mission. That was when Hayate began to worry.

He had finally pried the information out of Genma, reluctant to speak about it, that Raidou's new ward was the jinchuuriki. But once that had come out, Genma had emphatically warned him to be careful, and to stay away from the Kyuubi.

However, when Hayate returned to headquarters, after walking Yuugao home, he had gone down to Quartermaster's office to pick up a new set of armguards. Quartermaster had been in an especially good mood, even as he rubbed the aching stump of his leg. "You should have seen Raidou," he had said confidentially. "I've always said that man needs to relax some." Hayate nodded, adjusting the straps of the guards. "That kid is like a little brother to him; he was grinning the whole time he was here."

"Raidou was?" Hayate had asked incredulously.

And it was true; standing in the hall tonight, Hayate had seen how soft Raidou's face was when he looked at the little boy. And now Hayate was confused, because Raidou was rarely truly happy and showed it even less, and he wanted his friend to be happy.

So he didn't argue with Raidou about the Kyuubi container, Uzumaki-kun. Hayate offered a quiet warning to his friend, and decided to wait and meet Uzumaki himself before he made any more judgments.

* * *

Raidou was up at five, his usual waking time. A few quick stretches later, he headed towards the cafeteria. Naruto was still sound asleep, drool trailing down his chin to moisten his pillow. Raidou had smothered a smile; if he wanted to be a ninja, Naruto would have to learn to sleep without sprawling his limbs all over. That was a good way to fall out of a tree.

The cafeteria held a varied crowd of early risers and the few insomniacs or agents just returned from missions who were just now heading up to bed. Raidou ladled out a bowl of the rice porridge that was hard to make wrong, and sat down across from a sleepy hunter-nin. The man was half in uniform, and complained to Raidou about his captain's crazy idea for all-night training sessions.

When the man left to get some sleep, Raidou got a second bowl of porridge. He was about to sit down again, when an arm intruded into his field of vision.

The arm was attached to a man, who leaned insolently on the table, hand smack in the middle of Raidou's spot. Raidou lifted his eyes slowly, leveling a cold glare at the face. He knew it, and was not happy to see him.

It was Matsuda, as it usually was. He was twirling a kunai in his free hand, and the sneering lift to his lips made even that innocent gesture a threat. "How's your pet demon doing, Raidou?"

The porridge was placed silently on the tabletop. Ignoring the man's comment, Raidou never took his eyes from his face. "Still on probation, Matsuda?"

The sneer twisted into something nastier. A few heads turned at the sudden spike in tension, not quite killing intent yet, but not far from it. "Intel realized their mistake already," Matsuda answered, seemingly calm. "I'm back on active duty."

"Our loss," Raidou said pleasantly.

Matsuda's expression became a snarl. "Maybe the Kyuubi's corrupting you, Namiashi. You should be careful, lest you have to be put down."

The shift from tension to killing intent was palpable. Raidou bent his knees, not quite in a fighting stance, but ready to move. The handle of the kunai thunked into Matsuda's palm, its spin arrested.

An attack was prevented by the sudden insertion of a naked katana blade between the two men. Matsuda spun around, eyes spitting fire. "What the hell are you doing, brat?"

Hayate smiled politely. "I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, Matsuda-sempai, but I need to ask Namiashi-sempai a question about this katana." He moved to stand subtly beside Raidou, the odds now two to one. The rest of the cafeteria was carefully not watching, though no one was unaware of the brewing fight, and several hands rested inconspicuously near thigh holsters. Hayate's katana glittered.

Matsuda wasn't stupid, and despite the two inches he had on Namiashi for height and the confidence that he could beat both Namiashi and his scrawny teammate, Matsuda did not want to be dragged in to answer to authority by the rest of the breakfast crowd. He backed down, and left the cafeteria.

The tension bled away as the tall jounin exited. Hands picked up chopsticks once again, and the soft hum of casual conversation returned. Confrontations were not unusual in ANBU, but it was a relief to avert unnecessary violence, especially so early in the morning. Raidou gave a short nod to Hayate, as the younger man sheathed his sword, all the thanks he would give. "I had it under control."

Hayate shrugged, passing over the obvious lie. "Is this about the right size for Uzumaki?" He stuck out the sheath.

For a moment, Raidou was speechless. Then he took the proffered weapon, measuring its length with his eyes. "You're the expert," he said wryly.

"Yes," Hayate agreed amiably, "But I don't know Uzumaki's size."

"It seems right," Raidou admitted. He drew the sword carefully, examining it with a practiced eye. "This is high quality," he said, impressed. "Where did you get it?"

"It was mine when I was his age." Hayate looked at the blade with fondness. "My second katana."

"Are you sure about this?" Raidou asked, quietly amazed. The Gekkou family, though a small clan and not particularly prestigious, passed their swords down through the generations, and the katana he held had to be worth more than he could repay with a year of S-class missions.

Hayate nodded. "It's a loan," he clarified, "But Uzumaki will grow out of it soon enough. Child's katana are hard to find in good quality."

"But he doesn't know how to use a kunai, let alone a katana."

Hayate froze. He hoped Raidou wouldn't raise that. No such luck.

"Would you teach him, Hayate? Just the basics," Raidou added quickly, catching the flicker of panic. _Shit, was that too much to ask?_ He hoped he hadn't just destroyed any chance of Hayate accepting Naruto.

Hayate pushed away the irrational impulse to run. _Teach the Kyuubi container?_ But if he wasn't going to, why had he offered the katana? _I don't know,_ he admitted to himself. _I'm an idiot._ But Raidou's face had that hard look again, and Hayate plunged in. "Sure. I'd be glad to."


	4. Training

_Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. But Matsuda, nasty person that he is, is all mine._

* * *

Raidou was still officially on a mission. But as his mission was currently tagging along behind him, Raidou was a little at a loss for what to do. As hunter in a numbered ANBU squad, Raidou's life usually consisted of: leave Konoha on a mission, complete mission, return to Konoha, recover, leave again. Recovery actually was a larger percentage of time for his squad than usual, because the Head seemed to think that having the genius Hatake on the team meant they should be given every potential suicide mission, and every thrice-damned S-class no one else would willingly take. And Hatake being Hatake, he accepted them all.

It was because of one of these that Raidou had found himself baby-sitting a five-year-old. ANBU squads consisted of five members, and an incomplete squad would not be deployed. Floaters kept squads at full strength if a member was injured. But Kakashi refused to work with them. He had an obsession with teamwork and perfect cooperation, and insisted that floaters were a hazard to his team. Some of said floaters took his judgment with a grin and a shake of the head, but a few saw it as unforgivable arrogance.

Masaru had died two months ago on an A-class gone south, and with the squad below full strength, no suitable replacements available, and Kakashi obstinately refusing to work with anyone other than a permanent replacement, the Head of ANBU suspended Squad 14 for an indefinite period of time. At that time, Hayate was still confined to bed in the hospital, but the Head was not about to let the rest of the team laze around. A replacement was needed for Squad 19, so Genma spent the first month slogging through mud in Wind Country—who knew that desert area had so much slime? Raidou was handed a blue tagged, in-village surveillance scroll, and spent the first month silently watching a tiny boy get live hell every day of his life.

Kakashi, being the genius Copy-nin, ended up with what was arguably the worst assignment of the three. The Head had decided to clean up a few outstanding commitments.

It was one of the many times Raidou was deeply grateful he wasn't an assassination specialist. Intel had handed the twenty-year-old an armful of files, and told him to come back if he got injured. The squad hadn't seen their captain for about a month, until finally he came back one day around noon, his armor dark brown, his hair a similar shade of mud, and simply stood in the center of the foyer, staring at the desk attendant.

Even coated in grime he was instantly recognizable. And perhaps it was the uncovered sharingan, whirling slowly, fixed on his face, but the rookie saddled with desk duty panicked. Medics were called, and in the commotion Hayate stumbled over with his arm hanging out of its sling to rescue Kakashi before Intel and their psychiatric evaluators could get their hands on him.

Hayate had gotten his unresponsive commander upstairs and into the showers, rinsing weeks of grit and blood from his silver hair. Hatake had killed every one of the twenty or so targets assigned, and the only injuries he had to show were a swollen left eye and a glassy right. When Raidou came back that night, leaving Uzumaki to his replacement, he forced his captain to talk. Kakashi ended that night retching into the toilet, Raidou's hand on his back, choking on bile and disgust. It was ANBU's way of crying, and it was a type of healing the medics couldn't provide.

Kakashi was gone again in two days, because the Head insisted he couldn't be spared. He wasn't back yet. And now, Genma was gone again as well. Masaru was dead. Of all of Squad 14, only Hayate—recovered now—and Raidou were in Konoha. So, with no orders or pressing engagements, Raidou turned to training.

Currently, Naruto was perched on a rock at the edge of one of ANBU's private training grounds, watching Raidou train. Or rather, Naruto was trying to count the blades of grass underneath his feet, because it was more interesting than watching his guardian.

Raidou was a solidly built man, not wispy and delicate like Kakashi always seemed. Perhaps his most notable physical characteristic was the mess of scar tissue warping the left side of his face. Most people expected him to be a taijutsu type, with the power his heavy body obviously held. It was an advantage for him, because sometimes enemies wouldn't be guarding against genjutsu. And once he caught them, very few people could escape. Not because his genjutsu had many layers or were particularly well-crafted, but because it's hard to break a genjutsu when all the neurons in your brain can only register pain.

Classifying genjutsu was, to Raidou, a waste of time. In general, there were offensive and defensive genjutsu, though any good shinobi could use either type in any situation. Offensive genjutsu consisted of, for example, Yuuhi Kurenai's plant-based illusions, or the standard disintegration and pain visions. Defensive would be disappearing into mist, changing perception, or hiding. Some ninja preferred to separate the types by how the affected the victim, either creating a distorted world visible to anyone in the area, or directly altering an individual's brain. However, that method broke down with looping jutsu, when both mind and location were involved.

Raidou, though proficient in most types of genjutsu, preferred the ones he developed himself. Jutsu cast from a distance tended to expand like light, losing intensity to the square of the gap. However, most genjutsu users tried to avoid close combat; one cannot form seals while blocking weapons. They solved the problem by using more chakra the farther they were from the target. Raidou had overcome the issue by not using seals.

Hand seals are nothing but a way to mold and move chakra. Any good ninja can learn to use a few jutsu with abbreviated seals, or none at all, simply with years of practice. Forming his personal genjutsu without seals was second nature to Raidou by now. He could get close to his victim, block his attacks, and transfer the chakra with a brush of skin on skin.

Training today was building up his speed: going from latent chakra to a spark of disruptive energy concentrated in his fingertips in less than a blink of an eye, sans seals. To Naruto, it looked like Raidou was just standing in the center of the field. He yawned. "Hey, Raidou-nii-san, when are you going to train?" he shouted.

The jutsu fizzled out, leaving Raidou's fingers tingling and a faint impression of burning in the back of his mind. He shook his head violently to clear away the illusionary sensations. Genjutsu rarely ended cleanly, especially if the caster lost control involuntarily, and even more if the chakra was still in his own body when he did. Raidou turned to look at Naruto, who was kicking his feet against the rock and scowling.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Naruto demanded again.

Raidou considered explaining—again—that this was genjutsu training, and that if Naruto wanted to do something else, Quartermaster was quite willing to have him come help clean shuriken. But that was too much work. Instead he shrugged, and rubbed his smarting fingers against his shirt. "You want to train, Naruto?" he asked.

The boy's blue eyes lit up. "Yeah!" Then, more warily, he added, "Not just standing around, right?"

Raidou laughed out loud. "No. You're not ready for advanced training like that, yet."

Naruto's brow furrowed, as he tried to work out just what was so advanced about doing nothing. He gave up. "Teach me to fight," he suggested brightly, retreating into territory he knew. Fighting was important to him: if he could fight, then he could stop the people who tried to hurt him. And he'd need to fight well if he wanted to be a ninja, which was all he wanted to do.

Raidou pulled the last traces of chakra from his hands. It would not do for the kid to catch shreds of lingering genjutsu. Especially not when Raidou had been practicing with the one Nara Shikaku had helped him with. _Now, that man is something_, Raidou thought with pride in his comrade. Shikaku took a poisoned blade to the belly, and had offered—_offered_, without Raidou even asking—to re-experience the pain for Raidou's genjutsu. But Naruto didn't need to know what it felt like to have his insides ripped out while acid ate his flesh away from the inside, multiplied by a hundredfold.

Actually, Raidou was particularly proud of that illusion. He had managed to defeat Kurenai with it, who, even at only twenty, was one of the most skilled illusion masters in Konoha. Of course, practicing with fellow Leaf-nin, the genjutsu experts tended to tone down their nastier jutsus, but even so, Kurenai hadn't been able to move after she escaped. Raidou thought it might have something to do with the vivid sensation Shikaku had shared with him, through Shikaku's own genjutsu, of intestines spilling down his abdomen, the tickling slide of living organs somehow intensifying the horror.

Kurenai, still pale and shivering, a hand pressed flat against her belly, had asked with a shaky grin if he minded if she borrowed the image. And that was one of the greatest compliments one genjutsu user could pay to another.

But now Naruto was tugging at his sleeve, bouncing up and down, clenching his hands into fists. "Let's fight, Raidou-nii-san!"

Raidou cast a critical eye over his stance. "Foot there," he ordered, nudging the offending limb with a sandal. "Move the other one back." Naruto shifted awkwardly, sliding his foot back while trying to keep the first one where Raidou had shoved it. "Bend your knees. Hands up, tuck your thumbs down or you'll break them." The boy really had an atrocious stance.

By the end of the morning, Raidou was starting to warm up, and Naruto was gasping heavily, his T-shirt soaked in sweat.

Hayate poked his head a little forlornly into the clearing while Naruto was splayed out on the ground, limbs spread wide, trying to catch his breath.

Raidou waved at him, and Hayate stepped more confidently towards them. "I didn't want to disturb you two," he explained. He had double katana strapped to his back, the hilts poking up above his shoulders.

"It's fine," Raidou assured him. "We were just doing some light warm-ups." He grinned wickedly at Naruto, whose breathing had not slowed at all.

His eyes caught the flicker of porcelain-white at his waist as Hayate crouched beside Naruto and stuck out a hand. "I'm Gekkou Hayate," he said. "Raidou's friend."

"The one who kisses Yuugao," Naruto said brightly, in a single rush of air.

Hayate was taken aback. Then he glared at Raidou. "Why is that the first thing he knows about me?"

Raidou did not laugh. He did _not_ laugh. Well, maybe he snickered a little. "It's not like you keep it a secret, Hayate-kun."

He sniffed, and turned back to the blond haired boy. "Nice to meet you, Naruto."

"Yuh-huh!"

"The correct response to that, Naruto, is 'nice to meet you too," Raidou informed him.

"Nice to meet you too."

Raidou nodded in confirmation. "Good work." Then he spoke to Hayate, gesturing at the mask clipped to his belt. "Mission?"

"Kind of. Escort thing for one of the councilors. Look pretty and come back by this evening."

The older man snorted. "Waste of time, if you ask me."

"Yeah, but that's all I'm going to get until the squad is back." His smile dropped away. Hayate never got solo missions, and it chafed. Now, and most of the time, he looked perfectly healthy. The medics had the effects mostly under control, and it was only rarely that chakra reacted badly to the latent jutsu in his system. Squad 14 just dealt with it. But the Intel branch didn't know enough about the jutsu eating Hayate away from the inside to trust him with solo missions. "Well, have fun," Hayate told his friend and the jinchuuriki. "I got to go, or I'll be late, and the stuffy old guy will complain." Naruto giggled.

From the trees, Matsuda watched Hayate walk away.


	5. Family

Warning: Strong language ahead. Blame Genma.

Disclaimer: Naruto not mine.

* * *

_Genma crouched in the trees, melting silently into shadows. The scroll he had been sent to collect pressed painfully into his side beneath his armor. He could hear them coming closer, and as they paused three trees away, he stopped breathing._

Naruto and Raidou discussed chakra at lunch. Or rather, Raidou learned just how much Naruto didn't know about it. "It's not chatara," he said patiently. "It's chakra. You need it to do ninjutsu, and genjutsu, stick to trees and increase your strength." To stop someone's heart with two fingers in the wrong place (although at a different spot Raidou could do it without chakra, too). "It's energy," he continued, glossing over the methods of silent murder. "Physical and spiritual. You need to train to increase how much you have, and to increase your control over it. Did you hear a word I just said?"

Naruto looked up from his plate, a strand of noodle hanging from the side of his mouth. He sucked it up with a slurp and nodded energetically. "Chatara is energy and you have to train lots and lots!"

"Chakra."

"That's what I said."

"Chakra, not chatara."

"But they sound the same!"

_Genma clasped his shaking hands together in a seal, and pulled at his chakra. He was drained, and black spots were dancing in front of his eyes. The chakra seared his nerves as he ripped it away and focused it in his hands. He didn't waste time to wonder if he would make it home. He only regretted that he had left without really saying goodbye._

"So before you learn jutsu, you have to control your chakra." Raidou had nothing else to do, so after lunch it was back to training.

"Why?"

Raidou hesitated. Why indeed? "Because you can't use it otherwise," he said, a little redundantly. He pushed on before Naruto could notice the lapse. "So, watch this." Hands together, first two fingers of each hand raised. Chakra danced on his fingertips.

"Cool!" Naruto breathed.

"You can't normally see chakra," Raidou explained, dropping his hands. "But if you focus on turning it into light, that seal can become visible." It was a basic technique, and took very little chakra. ANBU mostly didn't use it however, because light gave away your position, and the seal tied up your hands. "The other basic chakra control exercise you can do is sticking to things." Raidou pointed at a nearby tree. "How would you climb that if I tied your hands behind your back?"

Naruto frowned. "I don't know," he finally decided. "Why would you do that?"

"For the sake of training," Raidou answered tartly. "You'd climb it with your feet." Raidou walked over to the tree, and put a foot on the bark. Keeping his body parallel to the ground, he walked slowly up the trunk, and then back down. Naruto gaped. "You focus chakra in your feet, and use it to stick to the tree."

Naruto nodded excitedly, then hesitated. "But where is my chakra?"

That stumped him. _Where is my chakra?_ Raidou could feel it, flowing constantly through his body. He knew automatically where the invisible energy was and how much he had. It just _was_. _This is why I'm not a teacher,_ he mused, and felt a rising respect for those chuunin who could answer a question like that. "Naruto, are you enrolled at the Academy?" he asked suddenly. He hadn't ever seen the boy go there, but he was old enough.

_The fire jutsu engulfed his hiding spot, and Genma leapt out of the way barely in time, landing hard on the vertical trunk of a nearby tree. He felt his ankle give way, again, and shoved more chakra into the crushed joint. The bastard with the fire turned to sweep the area, and Genma dropped to avoid it. He landed in a roll, because his ankle wouldn't take the pressure. And then they were on the ground too, surrounding him._

"No," Naruto said. "I asked Sasaki-san once, and she hit me."

Oh. Well. That certainly covered it. "Well, chakra is in your body," Raidou said slowly. "It's energy, and if you do seals, or focus on it, you can move it around." _Not helpful, idiot_. He tried again. "Close your eyes." This probably wasn't going to work. "Can you feel your hands?"

Naruto's eyes opened. "Of course I can. That's a silly question."

"Close your eyes, and just answer."

"Yes."

"Can you feel the muscle inside your hand?"

Naruto clenched his fingers. "Yeah."

"Can you feel the energy inside the muscle?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "Yeah, I can. Is that chatara?"

Raidou didn't bother to correct him. "Yes. Now, can you feel it everywhere else too? Follow it up your arm, and into your chest." He was following along in his own body, flexing the chakra pathways lacing through himself. "Can you feel it?"

"Yes."

"Now, pull some of it towards your hands. Okay? Remember that seal I showed you?" Naruto fumbled for a moment, and Raidou bent the child's fingers into the correct positions. "Imagine that the chakra is light, like a fire. The energy is fire." Nothing happened for a moment, then Naruto's hands lit up like a miniature sun. "Open your eyes, Naruto."

_Genma jerked forwards as the kunai caught him in the shoulder. There were six surrounding him, and he couldn't watch them all at once. They didn't bother to demand the scroll back. They'd take it from his corpse. He didn't have enough chakra left. Not enough goddamn chakra. _

"Wow," Naruto gasped. "I didn't know I could do that."

"You've got a lot of chakra, Naruto, to make it so bright." _But I wonder if it's all yours..._ Raidou shifted uneasily. It was too easy to forget the Kyuubi inside the little boy.

"Yeah! It's brighter than yours!" Naruto lost control of the jutsu in his glee.

"Well, how much you have isn't everything," Raidou admonished. "So let's work on control." _Soothe my ego a bit._ "Instead of focusing to your hands, put it in your feet. You need just the right amount, and a steady flow, otherwise you'll fall off. Try climbing the tree."

_Genma bared his teeth. He was fucking ANBU, he wasn't going to just die. A flicker of chakra and a lance of pain through his whole body, then he was behind the one who threw the kunai. A burst of chakra to cut through the spinal cord, and the man's head rolled at his feet. Blood sprayed against his face. One down. His vision flickered black._

Raidou did pushups while Naruto tried to climb the tree. Fifty-nine, sixty, sixty-one, sixty-three, wait a minute, was that right? Stupid high numbers always tripped him up. Fine. He'd list ways to kill people. _Stupid numbers..._ Kunai in the kidney, kunai in the jugular, sever the spinal cord, garroting wire, burn them with _katon_, femoral artery...

Naruto was about four feet off the ground. Not bad, for the first day. Not good, either. Inhaling poison, Suna-4, Konoha-13, Iwa-9 _damn I hate that one, hurts like the devil and you can't stop puking_, Yuugao's green goop she calls dinner _that was uncalled for. Sorry Yuugao. _Forget to cauterize a wound, infection, gangrene, _Naruto's gotten another foot up. _ The wood cracked. "Keep the flow steady, Naruto." Mis-dosing pain meds, contaminated soldier pills, poison in your food _why do I keep coming back to poison?_ Shuriken in the jugular _does that count? I already did kunai. _Stepping on an exploding tag, wire traps, nerve cluster in the neck.

By the time Raidou began listing pressure points, Naruto was several body lengths above the ground and starting to get tired. "Look, Raidou-nii-san," he called from a wide branch. "See how high I got!"

Raidou cut off his silent recitation and stood up. "Good work, Naruto." He looked around and realized it was getting dark. "Let's go in for dinner."

"See, I'm a super-good ninja already," Naruto exclaimed, bouncing around the older man as he strode sedately back to headquarters. "I'm so cool!"

"Hatake was already almost a chuunin at your age," Raidou informed him. "So don't get too cocky."

_They reacted faster than he had hoped. But the young one wasn't confident, and hesitated at the last moment. Genma slid under his thrust, pressing his body close against the enemy. A sharp rip upwards and the boy was slit open from belly to neck. Hot blood soaked Genma's chest where he touched the other. Four left. _

The cafeteria was more crowded than last night. Raidou squared his shoulders, and prepared to introduce ANBU to Naruto. "Hey, Kinjo, this is Naruto. Naruto, Kinjo."

The short, dark-haired man nodded politely. "Hello."

"Miyagi, I want you to meet Uzumaki Naruto."

"Leave me the hell alone, Namiashi." The pale, thin man glared at him, and Raidou moved on quickly.

"Yo, Raidou."

_They were too fucking good. He was on the ground with a knife at his neck before he could push the body away. It bit deeply, slicing through matted hair and skin and blood vessels before Genma got the second kunai up and into the man's chest. It scraped against ribs, then found cartilage and the soft give that meant he hit a lung. The blade stopped trying to decapitate him. But he was bleeding more and there were still three left. He stumbled to his feet. _

"_Kakashi?_ When did you get back?" Raidou hurried over to the secluded table by the window, dragging Naruto by one wrist. The boy mumbled a protest, tugging at his trapped limb.

"Sometime today," the jounin answered vaguely, waving his orange book through the air. "Where's everybody else?"

"On missions. Hayate should be back tonight, though. How did it go?" He pushed Naruto into a chair, and pulled one out for himself.

"Not bad. Maa, Raidou, who's this?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto declared proudly. Raidou watched his captain tensely for his reaction.

_He knew the one to the left used genjutsu. He knew that if he was caught, he didn't have enough chakra to break free. He knew that the seals the other one was hurriedly forming would create a jutsu he could not dodge. He couldn't stop the fleeting wish for Raidou at his back. _

Kakashi's half-lidded eye didn't even flicker. "Uzumaki Naruto," he repeated, deadpan. "Any word on a replacement yet?"

Raidou blinked. He had been expecting _some_ sort of reaction. Maybe disgust and rejection, maybe an effusion of love and warmth for his teacher's only son. Not complete disinterest. _Which really shouldn't be a surprise,_ Raidou realized. _Considering that's how he treats ninety-seven percent of all people. Make that ninety-nine if you discount dead people. _"No," he answered automatically. "You got anyone in mind?"

Kakashi shrugged. "No."

The conversation died. Raidou toyed with his chopsticks, trying to think of something to say. Luckily, they had Naruto.

"Nii-san says you were a chuunin when you were my age. That's cool!"

Kakashi's eye slid to the side to focus on the yellow head addressing him from barely higher than the table edge. "Hn?" Then, "Nii-san?"

Raidou twitched a shoulder. "That's what he calls me."

"So since you're so good, will you teach me?" Naruto demanded, interrupting. "'Cause I'm gonna be a super-ninja!"

Kakashi stared at him for a long moment. "No."

"Pleeease?"

"I don't teach."

Raidou raised a single eyebrow. Naruto pouted.

"I kill people," Kakashi said brightly, his eye curving into a happy smile. "I don't teach."

_Genma spat blood into the dirt, and felt the trailing end of saliva catch on his chin. The last bodies were spattered around the trees and he started to walk away. He heard the crackle of bone in his ankle just before he fell. _

"Cut the crap, Hatake," Raidou ordered. He had no patience for Kakashi's affectations.

Kakashi gave him a pouting look. How Kakashi could pout with only one eye and three square inches of skin was a mystery Raidou had never figured out. "Don't be so mean, Namiashi-taichou." Kakashi pushed his chair back from the table, and stood up. Or slouched up. The orange book flicked open in front of his already concealed face, and he lifted his free hand in a lazy goodbye. "See you later." His bowl of rice was barely touched.

_Well, that could have gone better_, Raidou mused as Naruto chattered his ears off around mouthfuls of sitrfry and rice. _Something about orange_, Raidou noted, _or maybe it's cats now. Could also have gone worse, I guess._ He had chosen the people he had introduced Naruto to when they came in carefully, and the reactions had been mixed. Most had been distantly polite, a few had been genuinely friendly. Miyagi's 'get the hell away from me' was not directed at Naruto, but rather at the world in general (and Raidou in particular). Miyagi was a damn good fighter, but he had some nasty moods. But a few cold looks had been cast their way, and Naruto had not missed them. Hatake, well, Kakashi was Kakashi, and there wasn't anything Raidou could do about him.

Going out to the apartment buildings behind the main HQ, Naruto began yawning. Raidou saw him to his room, and reset the seals. He fell down on his own bed, more tired than his uneventful day warranted. As he fell asleep, he reminded himself to enroll Naruto in the Academy. Training would do him good.

Someone pounding on his door woke him. "Raidou! Raidou get the hell up!" The shouts must have woken the whole corridor.

Raidou flung the door open, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "'The hell, Hayate?" he demanded, recognizing the boy waking him up at three in the morning.

"It's Genma," he gasped out, eyes terrified. "He's home."

_Genma fell into the doors of ANBU, too exhausted hurt bleedingfuckingdying to go any farther. The metal doors opened inwards, then swung back to knock lightly against his shoulders. The rookie at the desk saw him, and slammed a hand into the red button for the medics. He flickered over to the fallen man's side, and fumbled for his dogtags. 035—he skipped the rest of the numbers, moving to the name. Shiranui Genma. Wasn't he Squad 14?_ _A quick hand sign and a shadow clone was racing for the stairs. Hayate was 14, too, wasn't he? Shiranui was bleeding out all over the floor, and the rookie knew the medics would be too late. _

Raidou dropped to his knees beside his friend, reaching out to grab Genma's hand. "Stay with me, you bastard. Do you hear me, Genma? Don't you fucking die." He had shouldered his way between the medics surrounding the injured man, ignoring their orders to stay out of the way. Hayate hovered at the edge of the commotion, uneasy. The last dead teammate, Masaru, had been closest to Hayate, of them all. He was chewing his nail, something he hadn't done since he was a child. Teeth ripped into flesh, and crimson welled against pale skin.

Genma's eyes didn't open, and the medic with his hands over his heart shouted something. Green light flared bright. "What's his blood type?" someone demanded.

"A positive," Raidou said steadily. "He's A positive." The medic reaching for the dogtags dropped them and translocated away. He was back in a flash, with two bags of blood and a needle. Raidou's eyes were burning; too dry. _Fuck you, Shiranui. Don't you fucking die._

"Get operating room 6 primed."

"I'm losing the pulse, some help here!"

Hovering in the doorway to the stairs, no one noticed the head of blond hair over blue eyes, open wide and staring at the scene playing out under pale fluorescent lights on the black tile of ANBU's floor.

* * *

The rookie slumped against the desk when the medics finally rushed Shiranui to the hospital, running a hand nervously through his hair. His feline mask glared impassively at the pool of blood slipping over the tile. He suppressed a shudder, and headed to the closet behind the desk, to find the mops.

Naruto slid out of the shadows, and crouched down on the floor. He trailed his stubby fingers through the cooling liquid, and red dripped from his clenched fist. He didn't really understand, but Nii-san was upset, and Hayate-san was too, and he felt like crying. His people, his friends, his _family_ shouldn't be like that. He wouldn't _let_ them be like that.

* * *

Raidou was slumped in the corridor outside the operating room when Hatake arrived. Hayate had left to find coffee. "You're late," he said, too drained for rancor.

"Sorry," Hatake said, and there was genuine apology in his voice.

Raidou nodded shortly, and dropped his head into his hands. The fingers of his left trailed over thick scar tissue, and he grimaced. Fucking scars. Fucking Genma fucking dying.

"How is he?" Kakashi muttered, hands shoved deep into his pockets, not looking at Raidou.

"Don't know."

Silence. The tick of a clock. Hayate returned with coffee. Time passed.

The medics went in and out at intervals, with needles and tubes and exhausted faces and bloody hands. They didn't say anything. The ANBU didn't ask.

No one said anything when Yuugao arrived, her purple hair in disarray. She bowed as she approached, and sat silently on the bench by Hayate. The teenagers held hands, tightly. Raidou wished Hayate would pull himself together. He almost snarled at the boy. Instead, he closed his eyes.

The medics wheeled Genma out hours later, unconscious but breathing, dressed in a drab cotton hospital shirt and with too many tubes coming out of him. Yuugao stifled a shriek when the doors opened. They pushed the gurney down the hall; the body too pale, too small. Kakashi's eye watched impassively.

* * *

Pain greeted Genma when he woke. Dull throbs that spiked into immobilizing agony when he moved. He opened his eyes slowly, waiting to be greeted by Hell.

In the corner, a flicker of yellow. And Raidou sleeping nearby. Raidou's head pillowed on his arms, passed out at the foot of the bed. Not Hell, then. Hospital. Alive. His eyes drifted shut.

* * *

_A/N: Slightly longer chapter. I decided to go with natural breaks, rather than try and make huge chapters. Also, the main plot is coming. I promise._

_Also, tried something new with the style. Tell me if it works, or was just too confusing. (This is pretty much a one-time experiment, not throughout the story)_

* * *


	6. Forgive

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But once again, I get to claim ownership of the nasty characters: Niigata is all my fault._

* * *

"Four days," Hayate told him when he next woke. "And he won't leave." He gestured at the form of the oldest member of their team, splayed out over an armchair in the corner.

Genma tried to speak, and coughed instead. The soft breeze of oxygen being squirted into his nose from rubber tubing didn't make it any easier. Hayate leaned close to peer at his eyes. "You don't look so good."

He grimaced at his friend. _ Rub it in, why don't you?_ Someone opened the door, and a white-clad nurse was leaning over him, then slipping a needle into his IV line. Genma fell asleep again.

* * *

He opened his eyes in darkness, and panicked. Tied down, can't move, _hurt alone they'recomingIcan't—_a tiny hand slid into his own, and he stopped thrashing, paused in trying to escape the enemies that haunted his mind. A hand. He wasn't alone.

* * *

"It's been nearly six days." A strident voice floated through the quiet hospital hallways. "He's healthy enough to talk."

"The longest he's been conscious is ten minutes at a time," a worried voice responded. Two men came around the corner, one in the white uniform of a medic, the other in black and inverted shadow. His mask was unmarked ivory, a barely curved oval with two eyeslits the only features.

"I don't care," the ANBU snapped. "Just give me the medication."

The medic was nearly running to keep up with the other's long stride, but his face was grim. "ANBU-san, this is really not a good idea. Waking him up like this is _not_ good for his recovery."

"That was an order," the blank mask said coldly. Then, "Get out of my way, Deer."

The short ANBU stood his ground, mask pulled down over his face. "Frog-san is sleeping, ANBU-san," he said firmly, blocking the door to the hospital room.

"_Get out of my way._" He lifted a hand, as if to hit the boy in front of him. Deer did not move.

"He's sleeping." The fist cracked down. Deer's head snapped sideways, the smack resounding along the corridor.

The medic flinched. "ANBU-san, please—"

Deer coughed, a dry sound that began quietly, then rose until he seemed to be hacking out his lungs. He didn't move out of the way. "This is insubordination, Deer. Get the hell out of my way, or I'll have to report you."

"Fuck you, Niigata," he coughed. "Genma's not ready to debrief."

"I'll decide if he's ready, _Deer,_" Niigata growled.

The door slid open with a hiss, and Raidou's exhausted face peered out. "Hayate, what is going on?" A pause.

"It's Niigata," Hayate said tiredly, coughs subsiding. His voice remained scratchy.

"Out, Namiashi," the man said. "And get your fucking mask on."

"I'm not in uniform," Raidou shot back. "Go the hell away, Niigata. Genma's barely stable."

"He's been stable for _six days,_ Namiashi. We need the report, _now. _I don't care if you are goddamn twins or whatever; move. Or do I have to have you removed?" His voice turned dangerous.

Raidou stepped away from the door, his blood-shot eyes angry. But he raised his hands out in a placating gesture. "No need for that. Come on, Hayate." He closed his fingers around the younger man's bicep. "But if anything goes wrong, Niigata, I'll personally eviscerate you." He grinned savagely. The scar helped.

The Intel agent snatched a syringe from the disgusted medic, and slammed the sliding door behind him. Inside, he quickly injected the clear liquid into the tube pumping fluid into the unconscious ANBU.

In a minute, Genma's eyes flickered open. His head hurt, his body hurt. Niigata snapped his fingers in front of his face, and Genma's gaze moved slowly to the featureless mask. _ Oh shit. Not this,_ was his first coherent thought.

"This is your debriefing, agent 0358-974-002, for mission KX-004-734-6210-A. We retrieved the scroll, so it was officially successful. Please describe the mission in detail."

Genma grit his teeth, and swallowed the impulse to curse the Intel agent out of the room. It wouldn't work. "I—" He coughed. Drew in a shaky breath. "I left Konoha in midmorning. Arrived at target around nightfall." Pause. "Obtained the scroll. Came home." Longer pause. He wanted Niigata to go away. Or he wanted his mask; he was too vulnerable. Niigata towered over him, blank mask, stark room—He wanted Niigata to go_ away,_ before he snapped.

Niigata sighed heavily. He liked Squad 14, went far enough to consider them almost friends, and he had been disturbed when the news of Genma's return had filtered into the Intel offices. But _damn _they could be infuriating. "I need a little more detail, Genma."

The injured man's eyes lost focus. He stared at a patch of wall behind Niigata's shoulder. The other agent waved a hand in front of his eyes again. "Shiranui."

"I entered the house two hours after nightfall, after recon," he said, voice empty of emotion. "Took out three guards, not ninja. Two chuunin were in the scroll room. I killed them both." Cough. Wheeze. "Scroll was easy to find. Planted the evidence like I was supposed to. Sustained minor injuries escaping."

"Why?"

Genma's eyes snapped back to Niigata's mask, and he glared. "Because I fucked up, okay? Someone sensed my chakra, or found the bodies, or—I don't know! Eight of them chased me out of the mansion; I cracked my ankle bad. Followed me into the forest, lost a few with a kage bunshin. Couple skirmishes, then they surrounded me." He stopped for breath, the violent intensity draining away. "Do you need to know more?" he whispered.

"Continue, please."

He closed his eyes. "I took a couple hits, killed a few, went down." Silence.

"Genma."

"What?"

"Keep talking."

_Fuck you._ "I killed them, okay? Exploded their fucking bodies all over the fucking place. Happy?"

"Then you came home?"

"Yes."

"This was an A-rank, Shiranui, but the danger level was rather low. You shouldn't have sustained such serious injuries. I was ordered to evaluate whether this was attempted mission suicide."

This time Genma didn't resist the urge to swear at him. Niigata waited the tirade out. "If I wanted to kill myself, bastard, I wouldn't have come back," Genma finally snarled. "Get the hell out of here."

Niigata stood up, gathered his notes, and left.

In the hall, he glared at the three ninja leaning against the opposite wall. Hatake was looking too casual, slouching against the white tiles with his vulgar book held open in front of his nose. Hayate was literally quivering, and Niigata knew the boy was glaring daggers at him under the mask. Raidou's evil look was not hidden by blank porcelain, and Niigata returned the expression from the safety of his own mask. This incident was not going to be soon forgotten between them. But he had to do his duty. And he wasn't going to leave as the loser. "You both are guilty of blatant insubordination and interfering with ANBU orders," he began, facing Raidou and Hayate. When he had finished his rant, he spun on his heel and stalked away.

He felt Squad 14's eyes burning holes in his back all the way down the hall.

* * *

"You can come out now," Genma said to the empty room. _At least he had the sense not to let Niigata know he was here._

The little boy poked his head out from the nest of blankets in the corner of the room. "Hi," he said brightly, and crawled out of his makeshift bed.

Genma watched him warily. Naruto bounced over to the bed, and stood next to him, hands shoved into the pockets of his shorts. "You don't like that guy, do you?" he asked.

"Not right now," Genma answered dryly. He had made the connection between the hand in the dark, and the Kyuubi-boy standing in front of him. And he wondered why the Kyuubi-brat would have comforted him.

"So Genma-nii-san—"

His flinch was visible even to the boy. Naruto stopped talking. _Nii-san. 'Genma-nii-san, look at me!' 'Genma-nii-san, come play tag' 'I love you, Genma-nii-san', 'Nii-san, don't let me die...Please, nii-san, I don't want to die.'_ Genma couldn't suppress the half-formed sob in his throat. _For god's sake, shut up!_ he screamed at himself, at the voices in his head. _Go away, just go away._ He was crying, he had sworn to himself he wouldn't cry anymore. And the whiskered face was looking at him. _Kyuubi_—

Naruto retreated, bumping against the far wall, his lips quivering. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry!"

Genma levered himself up on an elbow, ignoring the agony the simple motion sent racing through his body. He wouldn't let Kyuubi—

Naruto was cowering against the wall, arms raised in front of him. And even through the haze of fear, pain and grief, lingering rage and the chemicals clogging his bloodstream, Genma _saw_ the boy. He dropped back against the bed. "Fuck," he whispered. "Fuck it all." Hot, salty water slid down his cheeks. "Naruto," he said quietly. First time he had used the name, and he still wasn't sure if he liked it. "Naruto, I'm sorry."

The door opened. Naruto's eyes flicked quickly to the entrance, to his protector stepping into the room. Genma wondered if it was just too late, and couldn't dredge up enough emotion to care anymore. Naruto would do what he willed, and Genma had already screwed up too far to go back. Kyuubi container, innocent boy; Genma didn't understand. But he knew, and he closed his eyes in shame, that he had done something unforgivable. Naruto's face—maybe he should've tried mission-suicide after all. Then he could go see his brother. Apologize for betraying him. But Genma didn't even know which betrayal he would beg forgiveness for. Finding sympathy for the Kyuubi-container, or nearly killing the child?

A tiny hand slid into his own. "Genma-san."

Forgiveness is a complicated thing, and Genma had never quite grasped the concept. He hated the Village Hidden in the Rocks, and their people, with an unflagging intensity. They had given him scars that would never fade, and fear that would never leave him alone. He hated the Kyuubi even more, and always would.

But Naruto forgave him completely and immediately. And in his high, child's voice, he promised never to let anyone hurt him again. Ever. Raidou had stared in shock from the doorway, and Genma squeezed the little boy's hand. The only thing he could think to say was "I'm sorry."

* * *

The wind was blowing softly through the trees, the sun shining brightly on the peaceful morning. The air was warm, just enough that the breeze was a comfortable relief. Hayate lounged against a rock in on of ANBU's restricted training grounds, his katana on his knees, enjoying the cheerful chirping of birds and the soft swish of grass in the gentle wind.

He looked up as Genma limped into the field, leaning on a pair of crutches, his usual senbon hanging from his lips. Kakashi walked a pace or two behind, nose buried behind an orange cover. Excluding the crutches and the thick brace around Genma's ankle, it was almost a perfect moment. Genma paused to wave a hand at Hayate, then finished making his slow way over to the rock. "Hey, Haya-kun."

"Is the replacement here yet?" Kakashi interrupted.

Hayate shook his head, and rose gracefully to his feet, sheathing his katana on his back. All three were dressed in ANBU armor (though Genma's was brand new), masks hanging at their waists. "Neither is Raidou," Hayate added.

"He'll be late," Kakashi said easily. Genma glanced at Hayate, and they both smirked.

"Where is he?" Hayate inquired. "He's usually on time, though _you_ wouldn't know," he added, jokingly.

Kakashi tossed him a petulant glance. "You're so mean, Hayate. He's dropping Naruto off at school."

* * *

Raidou stood at the gate of the Academy, holding tightly to Naruto's hand. The boy was tugging away, anxious to get inside. Raidou had bought him a new t-shirt for the first day of school, and they had registered yesterday. Raidou signed all the lines marked "parent/legal guardian," and threatened the chuunin with the Hokage when he protested.

"Be good, Naruto," Raidou admonished quietly. He had tossed a long sleeved shirt and a green flak jacket on over his ANBU uniform, hiding the unmistakable spiral tattoo and stark armor. He crouched down and gave Naruto a quick, one-armed hug, then a pat on the back. "You'll do great."

"Bye, Raidou-nii-san!"

"Naruto! Wait here after school, and I'll come pick you up. Don't leave with anyone other than me, Hayate, or Kakashi, do you hear me?"

"Yep, nii-san!" Raidou smiled indulgently as the boy raced off. Then he leapt to the rooftops, and hurried back to ANBU, because he was late to the meeting.

Naruto looked around the semi-crowded schoolyard. Children and parents stood throughout the courtyard, some drifting slowly towards the entrance of the building. Naruto noticed a cute girl with short pink hair, hugging her parents. Her father ruffled her hair, and then she was dashing towards the school. She passed another girl, with blond hair, and pointedly looked away. Then Naruto caught sight of a boy about his own age, standing uncertainly by the wall, and he jogged over. "Hey."

The dark-haired boy looked over, suspiciously. "Who're you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. What's your name?"

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Are you new here, too?"

"Yeah." He cast an annoyed glare towards the gate, where a short woman with wild, dark hair was leaning casually against the pillars. She smirked at him. "I don't want to be here, but my mom's making me come," he told Naruto. "I'm already a good ninja."

"Yeah, well I'm a great ninja," Naruto returned, "And I want to get better!"

"Hah, you? You're not a great ninja."

"What?! How would you know?" Naruto challenged. "Watch this!" He put his hands together in the seal Raidou-nii-san had showed him, and scrunched his eyes shut. "Hah!" he shouted. "Beat that!"

Inuzuka Kiba snorted. "That's lame. Watch _this_." He made two seals, and growled. His fingernails began to lengthen, turning to claws. "Hah yourself!"

"Well, this is cooler." Naruto ran at the wall, and managed to get three feet up before he tumbled off. "Bet you can't do that."

Their competition was cut short by a piercing whistle from the Academy. "New students, please come over here!" A young chuunin called out, waving an arm at the crowd of five and six year olds. "Class is about to begin."

Kiba and Naruto exchanged glances, then they both grinned. "Race you," Naruto challenged. They nearly trampled the chuunin as they pulled up short right under his nose.

* * *

"I thought school started tomorrow," Genma said, twisting around to glance at his captain. "I saw Quartermaster to pick up my new gear, and he said his daughter didn't go in until tomorrow. I think he's looking forward to it," he added dryly.

"The older students start a day later," Kakashi informed him. "Tenten's already been studying for a year. Oh, and Genma. What was all that about mission-suicide a few days ago?"

Genma's eyes widened. "Kakashi, you bastard, you were eavesdropping?"

"Yup."

The ninja glared at his commander, then turned the look on Hayate. "You too?"

"No!" Hayate protested. "But I couldn't stop him."

"It's my business, as your captain," Kakashi said imperturbably, eyeing the senbon Genma had clamped between his lips. The older jounin looked ready to spit it into his eye.

"Niigata and the Intel jerks are out of their minds," he snapped. "Something went wrong, I don't know what, but I certainly didn't do it on purpose."

"That's what I thought," Kakashi said, face serious. "If they get on your case again, tell me."

"I can handle it myself," Genma retorted. But the anger faded from his face.

"This is Squad business, Genma," Kakashi told him. "If you get pulled out by Psych, we're going to be short another man again."

The senbon stopped its easy motion again, and Genma's eyes flared. "Hatake—" he was cut off by the sudden arrival of their fifth member.

"I'm sorry I'm late, sempai," the young man gasped.

Kakashi started coughing, trying desperately to smother his laughter. Hayate blinked in astonishment. The boy's grimacing rabbit mask was a strange contrast of adorable and maniacal.

Genma's mouth dropped open. "What did you do to Quartermaster to deserve _that_?"

* * *

A/N: We have reached the Academy!


	7. Cracked

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

The boy readjusted the mask self-consciously. "It's only temporary," he said quietly, bowing his head. "There weren't any others."

"Temporary can be anywhere from a day to years," Kakashi said smugly. "Get used to it, Bunny-chan. Anyways, what are you doing here?" he added suddenly.

The bunny face tilted to the side. "Isn't this Squad 14?" he asked. "I was told to come here for training."

"A rookie?" Genma asked incredulously. "They gave us a rookie?"

"I was a rookie," Hayate mentioned.

"Yeah," Genma's tone was bitter, and Hayate flinched. Bunny-mask twitched slightly, following the exchange.

"Sorry."

"Oh, shut up Hayate. It's not your fault. Rookies are good; we can train him up to be just as cracked as the rest of us." Crisis averted.

"So, Bunny-chan," Kakashi interrupted. "When did you join?"

"Two days ago," Bunny-mask answered politely.

"And what are your specialties?"

"Ninjutsu," he answered promptly. "Taijutsu is fine, so is my genjutsu, but I mostly fight with ninjutsu."

"Elemental?"

"_Mokuton_."

The silence was tense. "Oh?" Kakashi finally murmured. "Wood. That's...interesting."

Bunny-mask flinched. _I should have known they wouldn't accept me._

"Well, I'd like to see that," Kakashi added. "But we're still waiting on Falcon to arrive, so how about we have a demonstration when he gets here?"

Bunny-mask nodded. Inside, he wasn't sure whether that had been apology, acceptance, or rejection. Not that it mattered. Of course not.

"Hayate. How about you two spar a bit? Hand to hand, put away that katana."

Deer-mask let the katana slide back down into the sheath strapped behind his shoulders. "Yes, captain."

* * *

"Welcome to the Ninja Academy," the chuunin said brightly, standing at the front of the large classroom. Twenty or so children sat in threes behind the rows of desks, eyes trained on their new sensei. "In your time here, you will learn to be shinobi. We cover the basic arts of taijutsu—hand to hand fighting, genjutsu—illusions to fool the senses, and ninjutsu—shinobi techniques. When you graduate, you will be full-fledged Konoha shinobi. Your path starts now." He smiled widely at the assembled children. "Today, we will do a basic evaluation of your skills—don't worry, we don't expect you to know anything yet. We'll start with taijutsu. Follow me outside."

* * *

Unarmed combat wasn't exactly Hayate's strongest point. He felt vulnerable without a blade in his hand, but that didn't mean he was weak. They started slowly, hit, block, spin, kick, duck, hit, block. Gradually, the speed increased, until only a jounin could have followed the individual moves. Three minutes in, Rabbit had Hayate pinned to the ground, one arm twisted behind his back. He added a little pressure to the arm. "Do you yield?"

Hayate disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Hey, no jutsu, Haya," Genma called from his perch on the rock. Rabbit was disgruntled, if Deer could use bunshin jutsu, why couldn't he?

The resentment melted away when Hayate appeared from the line of trees edging the field. He was coughing hard, his face turning a nasty shade of grey. "Sorry...about that...ANBU-san...just need...a minute," he gasped out.

"Sit down," Kakashi ordered, snapping his book shut and slipping it away into his pouch. "You should have said something."

Hayate waved the hand not currently held in front of his mouth. "I'll be fine," he insisted, swallowing the next few coughs, even though his whole body shook. "I'm ready to go on."

"You're not going on. Bunny-face, spar with me." Genma slid off the rock and limped over. Kakashi rolled his single eye.

"Idiots. Genma, sit down_._ Hayate, sit _down_. This isn't a mission." They obeyed, reluctantly. Kakashi followed them down with his eyes, then slouched over to the rookie. "Come on, Bunny-chan."

The rookie was breathing almost as heavily as Hayate, but without the racking coughs. He brought his hands up into a guard position, and waited for Kakashi's attack.

He didn't start slow. Behind his opponent in the blink of an eye, Kakashi slammed a clenched fist towards his neck. The rookie barely had time to register the movement and dodge, and he was off balance now. Hatake followed up immediately, pushing the boy to his limits, always on the edge of falling.

Kakashi dragged the fight out, long after he could have pinned the rookie. Finally, with the rabbit mask pressed into the dirt, he sighed, not even winded. "You need to practice," he told the rookie coldly. "You're not good enough."

Walking to where Hayate sat on the rock next to Genma, still coughing occasionally, he tossed a bottle of pills into his lap. "Take these. And you need to practice, too."

Hayate picked up the pills. "Kakashi, these—"

"The only one of any of you with remotely good taijutsu right now is Raidou," Kakashi interrupted, cutting Hayate off.

Hayate's voice rose. "Kakashi, where did you get these?"

The copy-nin shot a glance at the rookie. "I'll talk with you later, Hayate."

"We've got time to practice," Genma responded to Kakashi's dig about taijutsu.

"We've got one week," Kakashi said shortly.

"One week?" Hayate stuck the pills in his weapons pouch. "Genma's not going to be mission-fit by then."

"Seven days," Kakashi repeated. "You better be, Genma. That's all they're giving us."

* * *

"Can someone explain what chakra is?" the teacher asked.

Naruto raised his hand. He was excited, because Nii-san had explained this.

"Anyone?"

Naruto waved his hand in the air.

"How about you, Inuzuka-kun. What is chakra?"

Kiba lifted his head from the desk. "Huh?"

"Explain chakra, Inuzuka-kun." The chuunin was getting impatient.

"Oh. Uhh, chakra. Um. It's fire stuff you do jutsu with. It makes you strong. My mom has lots."

"Not quite, Inuzuka-kun." Naruto's hand shot up again. "How about you, Uchiha-san?" The teacher's tone took on a simpering tone as he addressed the black-haired boy. Naruto glared. _He_ knew the answer!

The Uchiha's discontented eyes rested on the chuunin teacher, looking down on him. "Chakra is spiritual energy, that a good shinobi can train for increased control and power. It is used in ninjutsu, such as _Katon_ jutsus." He glared at the teacher.

"Perfect, Sasuke-san!" the teacher gushed. Naruto slid back in his chair, disgruntled. Sasuke-bastard got it _wrong!_ It was spiritual _and_ physical energy. Nii-san had said so.

* * *

"Hey, Raidou."

"Sorry I'm late," the falcon-masked ninja apologized. He had shed his flak jacket and shirt just outside the training ground, and hooked on his mask. "Hello," he greeted the new ninja. "I'm Raidou."

"Tenzou," the rabbit mask responded. The other ninja realized, belatedly, that they hadn't asked his name.

"Well, Tenzou, Raidou, how about you two do some genjutsu practice." Kakashi pulled out his book again. "Hayate, you're ref."

"Ref?" Hayate repeated incredulously. "What?" But Kakashi was too deep into his book, and ignored him. "Whatever," Hayate muttered. "Go, I guess."

Tenzou jumped backwards, away from Raidou, and began forming seals. Raidou, however, followed him, and shoved two fingers into his unprotected neck. The strike wasn't hard enough to do any damage, but in the instant of contact he had gauged Tenzou's chakra levels, and though Tenzou rolled away, Raidou was ready for the next time. "I thought this was genjutsu training," Tenzou gasped, crouching defensively.

"It is," Raidou affirmed. Couldn't let the rookie get confident, he decided. Two seals, and perception shifted.

Tenzou noticed, as anyone above the level of chuunin ought to, and brought his hands up. "Kai."

But Raidou had only needed one seal for that technique, and he was behind Tenzou with a hand to his neck before the kid had finished his counter. Not Shikaku's jutsu, that would just be cruel. Instead, Tenzou found his skin burning, melting, sloughing off under his grasping hands. He didn't scream, because his throat was collapsing, and he didn't have enough chakra to try for a counter, because his chakra had disappeared. That was something Raidou had added after talking with Naruto, _where is my chakra?_

Raidou let him go after a few seconds. Tenzou was on his knees, hands clutching his throat, gasping hoarsely.

They both looked up at the sound of porcelain hitting paper. Kakashi had slapped his masked forehead with his orange book. "We," he said despairingly, "are going to get slaughtered."

"What?" Raidou gave him a curious look, tilting his mask back to free his face. Just because he had accepted the scar didn't mean he enjoyed being reminded of how he got it. Cursing himself as ghosts of burning tickled his mind, he wondered why he had used that particular genjutsu on the rookie.

"One week," Hayate told him, also pushing back his mask. "We've got a mission." He expected Raidou to protest, say it wasn't enough time for the rookie.

"What about Naruto?" the man said instead.

* * *

"Hey, Kiba, want to eat lunch together?"

"Sure," the other boy said. "Let's find Shikamaru. He's nice."

They dashed out of the classroom, finding Shikamaru and Chouji meandering slowly towards the wall surrounding the school. "Hey, Shika!" Kiba yelled, waving wildly.

The skinny boy looked over, his large companion breaking into a smile and waving back. Kiba introduced their classmates to Naruto. "My mom's friends with their moms," he told Naruto. "Hey, how come I never saw you around before?"

Naruto shrugged. "Guess I was in a different places," he theorized. "But we can be friends, now."

Shikamaru lay back on the ground, tipping his head towards the sky. Chouji pulled out a bag of chips. "Want some?" he asked, munching on the first one. Kiba grabbed a large handful, then Chouji offered them to Naruto. He took three. Shikamaru took one as well, and they snacked companionably.

* * *

Raidou did not like the look that came over the visible patch of Kakashi's face. His eye curved up innocently, and he lowered his book. "I don't want to leave him alone," Raidou hurried on, ignoring his suspicion of Kakashi. "Especially not on his first week of school."

"He could stay with Quartermaster," Hayate suggested. "His kid goes to Academy."

"But he doesn't live at HQ," Raidou protested. "Naruto would be alone." _And that's dangerous._

"How about Gai?" Kakashi suggested, still maintaining the innocent act. "He would protect Naruto."

Raidou paled. Not Gai. Please, not Gai.

"That could work," Genma mused. "Gai's going to be around HQ until his ribs heal. But how long are we going to be gone for, Kakashi?"

"Only a week or so. Ten days at the most."

"If everything goes right," Raidou inserted acidly. "And he'll have Naruto spouting off about Youth and Springtime by that time," he said despairingly.

"Naruto?" Tenzou asked curiously.

The emotional temperature dropped to below freezing. Four pairs of eyes fixed on Tenzou's masked face, where he still sat on the grass. "Yes?" Raidou said quietly.

"As in the Kyuubi-container?" Tenzou hazarded, acutely aware that he was stepping into dangerous territory.

"Is that a problem?" Kakashi asked, his face still smiling.

"No, no of course not," Tenzou hurriedly assured them. "I just didn't know you knew him."

"Do you?" Hayate inquired politely.

"Not really." Tenzou shifted uncomfortably. There were sharp blades under the courteous voices.

"He's important to us," Kakashi said blandly. Tenzou didn't miss the threat. "Let's call it quits for now," Kakashi suggested. "Hayate, I need to talk to you. Bunny-face, you need to train more, but make sure you're healthy for the mission. Why don't you go set things up with Gai, Raidou?" With his orders given, he latched onto Hayate's arm. "We're meeting here again at six tomorrow for real training." He dragged the shorter man away.

In the trees, away from their teammates, Hayate fingered the pill bottle in his pouch. "Kakashi-taichou..."

"They're from Mist," he said abruptly. "My last mission took me by there." Actually, he had made a three-day detour to get the medicine.

"Doesn't this violate the treaty with Grass?" Hayate asked softly. Kakashi's eyebrow drew down. Screw the treaty. Grass wasn't going to find out, and Hayate needed the medicine. He wasn't going to let his teammate die because of some illogical terms in a fake peace agreement.

"They worked last time you took them, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Then I don't care about the treaty. No one needs to know."

"Thank you, Taichou."

* * *

In the training field, Raidou offered a hand to the rookie. He pulled the boy to his feet. Tenzou was still shaking a little as he pulled his mask off. "Thanks."

"No problem. You want to get lunch?" he offered.

"Sure," Tenzou replied, surprised at the kindness.

"Yo, Genma, you coming?"

Genma shook his head. "I've got an appointment with the medics. And with the mission so soon, I better not miss it." He stood up cautiously, picking up his crutches. "Have fun," he added with a leer, just for fun. Tenzou flushed. Satisfied, Genma limped off towards the hospital.

Tenzou and Raidou began walking back towards HQ. "So what did you do to deserve us?" Raidou asked companionably. "I mean, they don't stick just anyone on Squad 14."

Tenzou blushed again. "You think I'm good enough?" he asked, startled. "After that, I feel completely incompetent."

Raidou shot him a skeptical look. "You are."

"What?"

"Totally incompetent. But don't worry. Hayate was too, when we got him." And that had led to a nasty situation, and quite a long track of recriminations and cold shoulders in HQ. "But I know why we got Hayate. So who wants you dead?"

All Tenzou could do was repeat, "What?"

"Oh, come on. You've heard the gossips."

"No. I, I haven't. What? I've only been here two days," Tenzou babbled.

Raidou smiled sourly. "So I guess I get the honors, huh? You really are a rookie. We're Squad 14. It's where they send the rejects." Tenzou stared. "No one cares if we don't make it back."

"But what about Kakashi-sempai? He's a legend!"

"Of course he is. He's an amazing, elite, emotionally screwed-up genius with personal problems bigger than the Hokage monument. It makes him unpredictable, and thus dangerous. Not to mention the whole stolen-bloodline issue."

Tenzou gaped. "What about Hayate?" he tried tentatively.

"Hayate. He's one of the most promising Gekkou swordsmen in the past couple of generations. Physically screwed-up. He can't take solo missions, and half the time he's a liability to whatever team he's on." Raidou glanced at Tenzou. "Still want to be on our squad?"

"What about Genma?" he asked, morbidly fascinated by this view into his new teammates.

"Genma is a remarkable shinobi, and a great person. But he's been considered mentally unstable since he was a genin. And no one wants to spend the effort to deal with his problems. Easier to stick him here."

"Are you serious?" Tenzou choked out. Genma didn't seem insane, but then again he'd idolized Hatake since he was a kid, and never once thought he could possibly be 'emotionally screwed-up,' as Raidou had so bluntly put it. Tenzou didn't quite have the courage to ask Raidou to his face why _he_ was on Squad 14. "And people actually want you guys to—to die?"

Raidou shrugged. "Not actively, I suppose, but it's not big loss to other people if we kick the bucket." Just as no one had cared outside six or seven ANBU when Masaru bought it, Raidou thought bitterly. And now he was safely dust, no longer a threat to normal people. Masaru with his big smiles and penchant for blue flowers. _A threat, hah. _

Inside Tenzou, several organs did a somersault. He'd been so happy when he'd finally been accepted into ANBU, and put on Hatake Kakashi's team as well. Now, apparently the council was just trying to get rid of him again. "Hell," he muttered.

"Don't worry, though," Raidou reassured him. "We take care of our own."

"Yeah," he said absently. The council really wanted him out of the way. His heart twisted a little. He'd thought that maybe...but no. Of course not. He was a freak, and always would be.

"So..." Raidou prodded gently. "What about you?"

"Huh? Oh. I'm an embarrassing experiment," he said bitterly. "I guess I fit."

Raidou slung an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Welcome to the club, Tenzou. Don't let it get you down." He grinned. "We're the best."

* * *

"Genma-san."

"What do you want?" Genma had been aware of the man in the trees following him back towards the village for the past minute or so.

"How's the leg?" he asked, too friendly.

"Fine." Genma didn't like Matsuda. The man always stood too close, always took spars too far. And he hated Raidou, which was enough reason to get on Genma's enemy list for eternity.

"Can you believe this business with the Kyuubi, Genma?" Matsuda shook his head disparagingly. "Letting the monster into ANBU headquarters. I don't know what the Head was thinking."

If Genma hadn't still been recovering from chakra depletion, a broken ankle, and ten days in a hospital bed, he would have smashed Matsuda's face in. As it was, the man barely dodged the kunai. "Keep you hands off Naruto," he snarled. "Or I'll kill you."

"Genma, you're talking about the _Kyuubi_. It killed your family, Genma. Your brother."

"I'm talking about Naruto, bastard." And he squashed the tiny thread of doubt sprouting from somewhere in his gut.

"You of all people, Genma." But when Genma's head snapped around towards him, he held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. But I warn you, Genma. You're making a mistake. That thing is the Kyuubi, and always will be." Matsuda turned and flickered off into the trees.

Genma swore, and slammed a fist into the nearest tree. Muttering vicious epithets, he stalked on towards the hospital.

* * *

"Bye Shikamaru!" Naruto waved furiously. "See you tomorrow! Bye Chouji!" Kiba and he stood at the gate to the school, waiting to be picked up. "You guys are great," Naruto grinned, plopping down on the ground.

Kiba grinned back, his fang-like teeth poking out. "Yeah. Hey, that's my mom. I got to go. Bye, Naruto!" He dashed off towards the woman who had dropped him off, with the same red fangs tattooed on her cheeks as Kiba. He pointed back at Naruto as they left, chattering to her. She glanced back, and her eyes narrowed. But Naruto didn't see, because Raidou had dropped down from the roofs and landed in front of the gate.

"Ready to go home, Naruto?"

* * *

A/N: Backstory for Genma is published as a separate story, titled "Chopsticks."


	8. One Week

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

Raidou knocked tentatively at Aoba's door. Gai's room had been empty, so the next logical place to look was his team captain's room. Sure enough, Mitarashi Anko opened the door, dressed in skintight mesh. She leaned suggestively against the doorway when she saw him, and smirked. "Hello, Raidou-kun."

"Is Gai in?" Raidou asked, business-like. Anko was about Hayate's age, barely seventeen years old and trying too hard.

"Sure he is. We've just been having a five-way _party_," she leered.

Aoba appeared behind her shoulder, fully dressed. "Who are you harassing this time, Anko? Hi, Raidou. Need something?"

"Is Gai here?"

"Yeah. Come on in." Aoba grabbed Anko's shoulder and pulled her back into the room. "Stop harassing the visitors, Mitarashi-chan."

The teenager scowled. "Let me go, Aoba. Gai! Gai, get over here. You've got a visitor."

The third member of Aoba's squad rushed out of the kitchen, beaming. "Who is it? Ah, Kakashi-san's friend." He paused, abashed. "What was your name again?"

"Namiashi Raidou." He looked uncomfortably at the glinting young man in front of him. His teeth sparkled as he smiled, even in the dim, smoky air of Aoba's rooms. Gai made him nervous. "Gai, I have a favor to ask of you."

The man straightened up. "A favor! I will do my utmost to fulfill your trust! What is it that Konoha's Great Green Beast can do for you?"

Raidou felt small under Gai's overpowering enthusiasm. "My squad's got a mission next week. I was hoping you could keep an eye on my little brother."

"That is a worthy favor! I will protect your brother with my life!"

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto," Raidou told Gai. "If that's a problem..."

"Not a problem! Konoha's Great Green Beast does not renege on promises! I will protect young Uzumaki-kun with my life."

"Thanks," Raidou said hurriedly, edging towards the door. "I really appreciate this, Gai. It'll only be a week or so..."

"Bye-bye," Anko waved. Aoba flicked a two-fingered salute, before dragging Anko's head back to the scroll they were examining.

Raidou ducked out of the room, exhaling in relief. That was a creepy squad. Definitely creepy.

He stopped by Genma's on his way back, knocking lightly. "Genma."

The door opened, and his friend gestured him in. Genma's apartment was the same as all the others in layout. But Genma had turned the bare, standard three rooms into safety. His walls were covered in posters and hangings, bought from thrift shops or collected on his more peaceful missions. The room was bright with color, and light.

Paradoxical as it seemed, Genma was afraid of the dark. It never affected him on missions, crouching alertly in the shadows, but in his own home the dark was the enemy. Or held enemies. He was afraid of being vulnerable, of being powerless. Thus the room was bright with artificial light, and Genma's senbon shone in the illumination.

"Did you ask Gai?"

Raidou nodded. "That's all set."

"What do you think about Bunny-face?"

"He's stronger than Hayate was, if only because he isn't coughing his guts up all over us. But they gave us a month with Hayate."

"They give anyone a month with a new rookie."

"Or at least two or three weeks," Raidou agreed. Then, "Is your ankle going to be healed?"

"Enough."

"That means no."

"No."

"A week," Raidou burst out. "One fucking week. Hatake's right; we're going to get slaughtered."

"Have Kakashi put him at the back. We can take whatever it is as a four-man cell."

"And you? If your ankle gives out, then what?"

"The medics say it should be good enough."

"For jounin missions."

"You don't know this one will be bad."

"They'd give it to someone else if it weren't."

Genma couldn't argue with that.

* * *

Six in the morning found five ninja at a training field, dressed in armor and masks, swords strapped to their backs. Five identical shinobi, distinguishable in the early morning light only by the patterns of their masks and the color of their hair. Cinnamon-brown, red-brown, black, white, mud-brown. And yawning off to the side, bright yellow.

They fought until the changing light, and Genma's faltering steps, caught Kakashi's attention. "Lunch break."

They broke apart, all breathing heavily. "It's three o'clock," Hayate pointed out, snippily.

Genma sat down, rubbing his ankle. Raidou crouched down beside him. "You okay?"

He nodded, glad his mask hid the teeth digging into his lower lip. "Bunny's not too bad at teamwork," he commented, when he could release his tense jaw without whimpering. "Kakashi should be glad." Naruto had left for school hours ago, when the morning dew hadn't yet burned off the grass.

Raidou glanced over the training field, the soft grass ripped to shreds by their feet and their jutsu. A new hill graced the north side, and several wide stripes of ash turned the air dusty. Hayate was coughing quietly. "Kakashi's never glad about anything." He tossed Genma a ration bar. "Eat, before he decides he isn't hungry."

Sure enough, the two had barely finished when Kakashi was standing up again, gesturing for his teammates to rise. "Let's go."

* * *

"My mom says I shouldn't play with you," Kiba said bluntly. "She says you're dangerous."

Naruto threw back his shoulders. "Of course I'm dangerous. I'm a better ninja than you; you ought to be afraid of me."

"You're not better than me!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Race you to the classroom."

"Go!" The two boys tore towards the school, friends again.

After school, Kiba asked, "Want to go to the park?"

Naruto considered. "I'm supposed to wait for Nii-san here."

"The park's just down there." Kiba waved a hand. "Shika and Chouji are going."

"Okay," Naruto agreed. He'd never been to the park with friends before. They played on the slides and raced around the climbing structure throwing cardboard shuriken. Their clear laughter rang across the playground, bright in the summer afternoon.

Raidou arrived at the school as the last few parents were leaving with their children. He was soaked in sweat, and still breathing heavily from the group training session. The rest of them were still out there, and he would head straight back as soon as he had picked up Naruto. He dropped down from the roofs and walked the last block to the school.

At the gate, a nervous chuunin hurried up to him. "What can I do for you, ANBU-san?" he asked, his fingers twisting anxiously in the sleeves of his shirt. _Bad form,_ Raidou noted absently. _Keep your hands free, kid. _Then he registered the question. Oh, shit. _Too late now_, he supposed. He'd forgotten to shed the ANBU gear.

"Where's Uzumaki-kun?" he asked instead, taking care to sound pleasant and unthreatening.

The chuunin glanced around the yard. "He's not here, ANBU-san. You might wish to check the park down the road; many of the students go there after school."

"Thank you," Raidou said, and walked sedately away from the school. Around the corner, he began to run. If Naruto were alone... He didn't stop to think how unreasonable his fear was—Naruto had lived his whole life alone, and survived—he just ran.

He pulled up short at the edge of the park, slipping into the shadows of the trees. He hadn't been careless enough to let the villagers see a fully uniformed ANBU sprinting through the streets; panic was not exactly needed in the village. But he did relax a little when he caught sight of Naruto's bright head bobbing through the playground. He was safe.

Raidou pulled his mask off and made a quick seal, stepping out from the trees dressed in a green flak jacket. Henge was remarkably useful in so many situations. He leaned against the fence surrounding the park, a half-smile touching his lips as he watched Naruto chase the Inuzuka kid, laughing with his head thrown back and eyes shining.

His smile grew as he felt a friend's chakra presence approaching, and the man leant on the railing next to him. "Your kid here?" he asked.

"On the slide," the Nara patriarch affirmed. "Lazy little creature," he said with affection.

Raidou glanced where Shikaku pointed. Sure enough, a Shikaku-look-alike sat poised on the top of the slide, his head tipped back towards the sky. "He's got your face," Raidou said.

"And my temper," Shikaku agreed with a smirk. "Yoshino's on my case constantly about it. She says I'm not being a good role model."

"Were you ever?" Raidou asked somberly.

Shikaku shoved a shoulder into Raidou. "Brat. How's the jutsu going?"

"It's good." Raidou flinched as the Inuzuka boy mis-stepped and fell flat on his face. "Tried it with Kurenai a few weeks ago. She likes it."

"Hah." Shikaku rubbed his stomach with his forearm. "I swear you're all masochists."

"Says a man who stabs himself in the leg every other mission."

"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about." Shikaku turned away in mock offense.

They watched the children in companionable silence for a moment. "Remember when we were that young?"

"Too long ago for me." Shikaku shrugged his bony shoulders. "I've got to get Shikamaru home," he added. "See you later, Raidou."

"See you."

"Take good care of the Uzumaki," he tossed over his shoulder. "Hey, Shikamaru, get your lazy butt down from there!" Raidou watched in amusement as Shikaku stalked towards his indolent offspring, still perched at the top of the slide. "You promised your mother you'd clean your room." Raidou thought he heard a faint mutter of 'troublesome.' "It'll be more troublesome if she finds six shogi boards still on your floor," Shikaku informed his son. The boy paled, and slid quickly down.

Raidou laughed quietly as the two Nara walked away. Then, he straightened up from his languid slouch. "Naruto!"

He bounced over, waving goodbye to his friends and smiling. "Raidou-nii-san, guess what. Me and Kiba and—"

"Naruto," Raidou cut in. "You weren't at the school."

"No, Kiba and me went to the park," he said, looking confusedly up at the man walking next to him.

"You said you'd be at the school." Raidou kept his voice calm, but serious. "If you changed a plan like that on a mission, someone might die." He sent a frown down to the little boy. "If, for instance, we had planned to meet up at the school, but you weren't there, like today, I might think you were still in enemy territory. Then I would go back to find you, and maybe get caught. And you would be playing safely in the park. Do you see?"

Naruto nodded contritely. "Sorry, Raidou-nii-san. I won't do it again." He toed at the dirt.

"It's fine if you go to the park," Raidou told him. "But you need to leave me a message. So what were Kiba and you doing?" And Naruto perked back up, chattering his ears off the whole way home.

* * *

Two days until the mission, and Squad 14 still had not found a rhythm. They were sparring again; Kakashi and Raidou against the other two. Kakashi blew a fireball at Tenzou and Hayate, fighting hand to hand with Raidou. The falcon-masked ANBU leapt out of the way, and Hayate followed him, engaging steel in the heated air. Twisting midair, Hayate dropped to the ground facing Kakashi. Expecting his teammate to back him up, he charged the ninjutsu user. But where Masaru would have fallen in at his back, fending off the second attacker, Tenzou attacked Kakashi.

Hayate was left vulnerable, and Raidou felled him with a slap to the back of his neck and the sudden illusion of a field of flowers. When Hayate pulled out, Raidou had a kunai at his neck, and Tenzou was lying unceremoniously in the dirt. "Flowers?" Hayate coughed at the genjutsu master. "How much more embarrassing can you make it?"

Raidou leered playfully. "You want to know?"

Kakashi cut off the discussion, wearily. "Try again."

* * *

The evening found Kakashi shut silently in his room, Raidou coaching Naruto on the basic seals that form ninjutsu, Tenzou and Hayate talking over extra dessert about whatever seventeen-year-old boys talk about, and Genma in a dojo in back of ANBU headquarters.

He had to get mission-fit, fast. His ankle, despite the medics' attention, was still weak. Hurried repair was not the same as letting the torn muscle and shattered bones heal. He stopped the exercises when the steady ache turned to sharp pain. Crouching on one leg, he extended the injured limb out in front and stretched the joint.

He stood up hurriedly at the approach of an unwelcome chakra signature. "Genma-san," Matusda exclaimed. "How convenient to meet you here. I was hoping for a sparring partner." His voice was sickeningly friendly.

"Not tonight," the long-haired ninja answered. He tried to step past Matsuda, but the other was blocking the door. Matsuda didn't even bother with a pretense of politeness. He shoved Genma in the center of the chest, sending him reeling back a step. "Let's spar." His lips curled from his teeth in what might have been a smile, if it weren't so malicious.

"I'm not interested," Genma snapped. "Get out of my way."

Matusda attacked. Only reflex saved Genma; he dodged and blocked Matsuda's punch. Dancing back, his ankle suddenly flared with pain. He stumbled; caught himself quickly. But it was enough time for Matsuda, a taijutsu specialist, to gain the upper hand. He was on his face in a moment, Matsuda's fingers digging into his arm, wrenching it up behind him. His left arm. Genma froze. "You can let go now," he said with brittle calm. "I yield."

But Matsuda always took spars too far. His grip tightened, a knee shoved deep into Genma's back. Calm began to fracture. "Let go, Matsuda." And maybe the man heard something in his voice, but he released his opponent. Genma rolled to his feet, breathing raggedly.

"That was weak, Genma-san," Matsuda commented. His opponent didn't respond. Genma stalked out of the dojo, valiantly not limping. Desperately not screaming.

He slept badly that night. His arm throbbed with decade-old pain, and the dead past haunted his dreams.

_"So nice to see you again, Katsu-chan." You're dead, Genma thought. He couldn't speak. "We missed you." You aren't here, he tried to reason with himself. His arm throbbed. The man, tall, dark-haired, scarred, grabbed it. The pain turned to the fresh agony of shattered bone. "Still as cute as ever, Katsu-chan. We can make up for lost time, eh?" The walls were white, bare; the room smelled of blood. The man pushed him up against a wall, the same wall. Genma was so much smaller than the other; only ten years old. His breath was hot on Genma's face. "Did you miss me? You betrayed us, Katsu-chan. I have to punish you for that." Fear constricted his throat. The pain began. He screamed._

* * *

Raidou saw something was wrong as soon as Genma entered the cafeteria in the morning. He moved like a wild animal, wary, frightened. The tray clattered as he picked it up, his hands shaking too badly to contain. He nearly spilled his breakfast all over the floor on his way to Raidou's table, and he sat down three seats over from his friend, tipping his head to let his hair swing out in front of his face.

Genma wasn't wearing his forehead protector. "Raidou-nii-san." His appraisal was broken off by the insertion of Naruto's head into his field of vision. "Can I have more eggs?"

"Yeah, go get them," he said absently. When Naruto had disappeared, he spoke quietly to his friend. "Genma."

The man flinched, tucking his head down farther and hunching his shoulders. "Leave me alone," he whispered.

In his head, Raidou cursed. They had to leave tomorrow; this was _not_ a good time for Genma to have a breakdown. "Genma, it's me." Shattered eyes turned to look at him. "Genma."

_White walls. _Awake; home; morning; get breakfast, right? _Screaming._ Tray. Yeah. Then food. _Hands touching him_. Powerless, vulnerable. No. Scoop the eggs. Sit down. Not too close. Close is dangerous. _Too close._ "Genma." _Leave me alone._ "Genma, it's me. Genma." _Katsu-chan—_Genma.

He blinked, slowly. Not real. _Get ahold of yourself, Genma. You're not there._ "You'd think I'd be over this by now," he said shakily, eyes focusing on Raidou's concerned face. _Katsu-chan—_ Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up.

"Are you okay?" Both ninja spun around. Naruto peered up at the ANBU, his whiskered face concerned. "You don't look happy."

Genma forced out a laugh. "I'm fine, kid. Fine." He directed the last towards Raidou, a subtle order to drop it. _I'm fine. I'm okay. Not losing it. Not. Losing. It. _He finished his breakfast in silence, listening to Naruto's cheerful voice to keep from drowning.

* * *

"Naruto, this is Gai-san. He's going to look out for you while I'm gone, okay?" Naruto nodded.

"It is Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto!" Gai boomed. "We shall have Fun together this week!"

"Uh-huh," Naruto squeaked.

"He'll walk you to school and pick you up," Raidou began. Naruto latched onto his hand, squeezing tightly. Raidou flexed his fingers, trying to loosen the painfully tight grip.

"If you need anything, Naruto-kun, do not hesitate to ask me!" Gai thumped his black-clad chest. "I am always here for you!"

Raidou knelt down and gave Naruto a hug. "I'll be gone before you get up tomorrow," he said. "But we'll be back in a week or so. Don't get into trouble. And you may not eat ramen every night. And remember to brush your teeth."

"Yosh! Healthy teeth are essential to experiencing your Springtime of your Youth to the fullest!" Sparkle.

"Be good, Naruto. See you in a week." Raidou stood up, and headed for the door of Naruto's room.

"Nii-san!" A small weight flung itself at his legs, and squeezed. "I'll miss you."

"I'll be home soon, Naruto. Don't worry."


	9. Mission

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

Naruto woke with a boisterous voice shouting in his ear. "Good Morning Naruto-Kun!" The boy sat bolt upright with a yelp. The tall, black-haired, black-eyed, black-browed, black-clad ninja beamed happily. "What a Joyful summer morning!"

"Ehhh..."

"Be vigorous, Naruto-kun, your Youth awaits!" Gai struck a pose, his teeth reflecting the weak sunlight filtering through Naruto's window in a blinding flash.

"Stop shouting, Gai," a disgruntled, female voice groaned from outside the door. Naruto pulled his blankets up to his chin, shrinking away from his new protector. Then a purple-haired woman stuck her head into his bedroom. "Morning, kid. Hurry up, or you'll be late for school." Her short hair was clipped messily up behind her head, and her brown eyes were bloodshot. "What the hell is taking so long, Gai?"

"Naruto, this is the most Un-Youthful Anko-chan. She stayed up too late drinking last night, and now is paying the Price." He frowned disapprovingly at her.

"Ah, shut up, Gai." Anko sprawled on her back across the foot of Naruto's bed, dressed as Gai was in basic (skintight) ANBU blacks. She didn't seem to care that her arched body and attire were very not conservative. Tossing an arm over her eyes, she moaned. "My fucking head." Naruto slid unobtrusively towards the head of his bed, staying safely under the covers, his blue eyes wide.

"Anko-chan, please watch your language! That was a very Un-Youthful thing to say, especially in front of Naruto-kun." Gai shook his head at her, not disturbing a single, perfect, shiny hair.

"Whatever, Eyebrows." She yawned. "I'll meet you down for training...in a little bit."

"Anko-chan! You can't go to sleep now!"

"Why the hell not?" She began to snore exaggeratedly.

Gai vacillated uncertainly for a moment. "Anko-chan..." She rolled over, burying her face in Naruto's blankets. The boy pulled his knees up to his chest, huddling against the headboard. Scary lady...

Gai made his decision. "ANKO-CHAN! YOU MUST AWAKEN! THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH AWAITS!" Naruto clapped his hands over his ears. Anko shrieked, and did the same.

"Gai, you bastard!" The woman jumped off Naruto's bed and flung herself at Gai. "You insensitive useless eyebrow freak! I have a goddamn hangover!" He dodged her punch, and did a back flip over the bed. Anko followed him, leaping gracefully to the bed in order to throw a second punch at his face. Naruto watched with a mixture of shock, fear, and admiration. It was certainly a unique wake-up call.

"Um..." Naruto tried, as Anko thudded into the wall. She sprang off it, snarling wildly and slammed her head into Gai's stomach. In the cramped space of Naruto's bedroom, they backpedaled into another wall. "Hey," he tried again, louder.

Gai dropped to the floor to execute a spinning kick that Anko easily leapt over. He followed up by pushing off the floor and slamming a scissoring leg into her shoulder from above.

Their fight was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a very irritated neighbor. "Can't you keep it the fuck down?" the brown-haired man snapped. "Some of us are trying to _sleep!_"

"Sorry, friend," Gai said contritely, immediately stopping. Anko was not so polite. With a cry of triumph, she drove a fist into Gai's stomach.

"That's for shouting, jerk." The man grunted, folding over his midsection. "Time for school, Naruto," she added, switching in the blink of an eye to cheerful older sister tones.

Naruto shivered, and made a note of how the other ANBU had stopped Gai. That might be useful to know. Sliding out of bed and hurrying to get dressed, he decided that he already missed Raidou-nii-san.

* * *

Squad 14 had left Konoha two hours before daybreak. Leaping through the trees, they moved quickly through the darkness, not slowing as the sunlight began to filter through the leaves. Kakashi called a halt around noon, when Raidou informed him quietly that Hayate was wheezing and Genma was limping. The young captain finally woke up from whatever distracted thoughts had been occupying his mind for the past forty miles, and the team settled for a break on a grouping of wide branches.

Hayate quietly swallowed a sip of water and one of the pills the medics had given him (perfectly legal, no international treaties violated). Genma re-wrapped his ankle, tightening the supportive bandages, and swearing under his breath. Raidou wondered sometimes if Genma's dirty mouth was a defense mechanism against the rest of the world. It was certainly keeping Tenzou a safe distance away; the boy's ears were bright red as he studiously chewed on a ration bar.

Kakashi only let them rest ten minutes, then they were off again, only a little slower now as the afternoon heat grew.

* * *

"Naruto-kun! How was School today?" Gai boomed, clapping a hand on Naruto's back. The boy stumbled forward from the force, and grinned weakly back. The tall man was dressed in a green jumpsuit now. Oddly enough, it looked more normal on him than the uniform he had previously sported.

"Good?" he tried. Then, a thought came to him. "Gai-san, can we go get ramen?"

"It is time for training, now, Naruto-kun! Ramen must wait until after we have exercised our Fires of Youth!"

Anko materialized out of the crowd leaving the Academy, also not in ANBU uniform. Her close-fitting mesh was hardly more appealing than Gai's green monstrosity, but Naruto didn't notice, as she had appeared behind him. A cold hand slipped onto his cheek, and he yelped, heart pounding. "Boo," she whispered in his ear. "Got you."

"Anko-chan, please do not scare Naruto-kun like that," Gai chided, as Naruto whirled around to stare at the Scary Lady.

"Let me have some fun, Eyebrows," Anko pouted. "You and your ribs have kept me out of missions for a _week_. I'm bored," she complained. Naruto stepped carefully towards Gai; no matter how disturbing he was, he was safer than Scary Lady. She had a stick of dango in her other hand, and now munched off the last sweet. With a quick flick of her wrist, the skewer flew at Gai's head. He caught it in one hand.

"Be careful, Anko-chan. You might hurt one of the children." He tossed the skewer carefully back to her, then put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let us go Train!"

* * *

They made camp as the sun set. It took no time to spread out the bedrolls, but Kakashi wasn't satisfied until they had trapped a fifty-foot perimeter and investigated the forest in a mile-radius. As Raidou prepared to take first watch, Tenzou drifted quietly over. "Is he always like this?" he asked quietly, tipping his head towards Kakashi.

"Yeah." Raidou rested his head against the trunk of the tree he had chosen for sentry duty. "Keeps us alive, though."

"We covered a lot of ground today," the teenager commented, dangling his legs off the branch.

Raidou nodded agreement. "Same tomorrow, probably." Taking his eyes from the empty darkness for a moment, he focused on Tenzou's face, floating palely above the ghostly chest plate and darkly invisible uniform. "What's on your mind?"

The boy looked down at his swinging feet. "I've never done...assassination before," he admitted. "I'm only bringing it up because I don't want my inexperience to be a liability to the team," he added hurriedly.

Raidou let his lips curl, hidden in the darkness. Obviously a prepared speech, so he could avoid admitting anything as unworthy as fear. "Lucky for you," he said lightly, "that massacres are nothing like assassinations."

Tenzou was still a kid, Raidou realized. Funny how much difference only a few years could make in a person. Tenzou had probably been around eleven when the war ended; old enough to have been a genin during the final years, young enough to have avoided most of the worst parts. Whereas Genma and he had been tossed into the thick of the fighting as soon as they got their headbands, the Hokage had tried to keep the genin as far as possible from the front as soon as peace seemed to be an option. Tenzou had probably never seen the melee of a real battle.

Tenzou's voice was half annoyed, half suppressed anxiety; Raidou knew how hard it was to speak of one's own weakness. "I've never done that before, either."

The older ANBU sighed. "You get used to it," he said off-handedly. Actually, that was a lie. He had never gotten used to it, only good at it. "Don't worry, Tenzou. You'll do fine," he said into the night, hoping it would be true.

* * *

Naruto hurried into school the next day without waiting for Kiba at the gate. The Inuzuka boy found him scrunched down at his desk when the bell rang. "What's up?" he asked, plopping down in the seat next to his friend.

Naruto looked at him with haunted eyes. "My brother's on a mission," he said. "This other guy is taking care of me..." Naruto shuddered, and in a conspiratorial tone added, "He wears green jumpsuits."

Kiba patted him awkwardly on the back. "That's not so bad."

"You haven't met him," Naruto told his friend despairingly. "And there's this other lady..."

* * *

They were nearing the border with Grass, and three of the five were starting to get twitchy. Hayate watched his teammates with resignation; Tenzou with confusion. Even Raidou, the most normal seeming of his whole team was snappish.

"Raidou-san," he had asked when they stopped mid-morning, "Is there any protocol for missions like this?" Raidou had been helpful before, and Tenzou was hoping for some advice on the mission.

"Protocol?" Raidou had asked. He had lifted a hand, hitching slightly as it passed his face, to run it through his hair. "Don't mess the heads more than you can avoid; we need to ID some of them afterwards."

"Anything else I should know?" he prodded.

"I don't know, rookie. Can't you just leave me alone for a minute?" Raidou had snapped. He yanked his beaked mask over his face and stalked away, leaving Tenzou gaping after him.

"He doesn't mean to be upset," Hayate told him later. "Just," he gestured vaguely at his own face. "It happened around here. He and Kakashi both lost teammates in Grass during the war." Kakashi wasn't talking to anyone except to give orders.

Tenzou nodded, and hoped that the mission would be over soon.

* * *

"Naruto-kun! So nice to see you again," Quartermaster exclaimed. Naruto hurriedly shut the door to the man's office behind him and grinned.

"Hi, Quartermaster-san."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, casually. If he were any judge, the kid was running from someone. But he didn't look upset or hurt, so it probably wasn't serious.

"Gai-san wants me to try on clothes," Naruto said, heading over to where the quartermaster of ANBU was flipping through a binder of papers, scribbling every now and again on a page and checking off boxes.

"Do these clothes happen to be green, one-piece jumpsuits?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the five-year-old.

"Yeah."

"Then you're welcome to stay here as long as you need," he offered. "But you have to help me inventory the supplies."

"Thanks, old man!"

Quartermaster glared at him. "Don't call me 'old.'"

"Sorry, ol—um, Quartermaster-san."

"Seijun-san is fine, Naruto-kun. Now, do you see that box over there? The cardboard one on the second shelf. Go over there and tell me how many metal glove-plates we have left."

Naruto bounced over to the shelf and pulled down the large cardboard box. Sitting down on the floor, he began pulling out the slightly curved steel rectangles, each with three holes punched on both short sides.

The door swung open again, and Naruto looked up, ready to run away again if it were Gai with that terrible green thing ('Perfect for training, it will help your Fire of Youth burn brightly!'). Instead, it was a little girl with brown hair tied up in two buns on top of her head. "Ibiki-san says he only has two boxes left, Dad," she told Seijun. "He says about six more should hold them to the end of the year."

"Thanks, Tenten. Let's make that eight. Ibiki always underestimates bandages, and I don't want him stealing from the hospital again." The graying man added a note to his binder, then flipped back a few pages. "Oh, Tenten, this is Naruto. Naruto, my daughter, Tenten. You both go to Academy, but Tenten's in her second year."

The little girl glanced over at Naruto, sitting on the floor with glove plates spread out around him. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," he repeated.

"Tenten, go ask Junji-san if he needs more glass test tubes. I think I gave him the last box already. Naruto, do you see a wooden crate marked with a red cross on that shelf? If it's there, it ought to be in the back."

* * *

Sunset was long past on the second day out of Konoha. A voice crackled over the radio in Kakashi's ear. "Frog in position."

"How many sentries?" the captain asked, tersely.

"Four, that I can see from here."

"Falcon in position. Three, but I think I'm overlapping one with Frog."

"By the big rock?"

"Yeah."

"So six," Kakashi cut in. "Bunny, where are you?"

"Almost ready, Captain," Tenzou whispered into his microphone. "The mud here is making travel a little difficult."

Kakashi grinned behind his two layers of masks. Who better to send to the swampy side than the rookie? "Well, hurry up Bunny. We're waiting on you."

"Yes, Captain," Tenzou acquiesced, before clicking off his microphone and muttering to himself. "Says the man sitting in a comfortable tree reading porn."

"The tree's not that comfortable, Bunny." Tenzou paled, and checked his radio. He was sure he had turned it off.

"Captain?" he asked hesitantly. Kakashi had to be guessing, so he wouldn't admit to anything.

Hayate's scratchy voice cut in. "Stop messing with his head, Captain. Don't worry, Rabbit, he's not offended."

"But I didn't say anything," Tenzou protested.

"If you weren't thinking 'why should Kakashi get to read porn and sit in a tree while I slog through mud,' you're more of saint than the rest of us," Genma added. "Are you in position yet?"

"Not yet," Tenzou retorted, grumpily. "Okay, I've got a visual on three sentries."

"Finally." Kakashi yawned. "Well, keep tabs on them all. Hayate and I will be doing our best in our terribly difficult assignment. Have fun." He clicked off his radio and pulled out his book. All three agents perched uncomfortably around the enemy camp swore.

* * *

The next afternoon, Naruto and his friends were back at the park. Shikamaru was annoyed, and not talking to any of them. Chouji offered him a chip.

"Come on, Shikamaru, tell us what's wrong," Kiba pressed, crouching in front of the Nara boy.

Shikamaru just continued to stare at the clouds. "Shikamaru?" Chouji pressed. He waved the chip above Shikamaru's face.

Shikamaru just yawned, and fixed his gaze on the sky. "Naruto," he finally said, "Why does everyone hate you so much?"

"Huh?" Naruto sat back on his heels. "Uh..."

"My mom and dad were arguing last night," he added. "Mom says playing with you isn't safe, and could be bad for my future. Dad says his friend likes you, and he trusts his friend. Why are they arguing about you, Naruto? Why does my mother even know you?" Naruto sat down in the woodchips, dragging his fingers through them. Shikamaru lifted his head to look at his friend. "I've been watching people today," he said calmly. "People stare at you. Not nicely."

Naruto shrugged, staring at the ground. "It's always been like that. I don't know why. But I've got you guys now, right? We're friends now?" He looked up uncertainly. "Right?"

* * *

"There were leeches in that swamp, Kakashi-taichou," Tenzou stated. He wasn't complaining, of course not, just making sure his captain understood the situation.

Kakashi flipped another page. "What was that, rookie?"

Tenzou rolled his eyes and leaned back on the ground. Genma was perched in a tree a few meters away, scanning the surrounding forest for danger. Hayate and Raidou were trailing the group of missing-nin, making sure they didn't lose the trail in the day. The rest of the squad would catch up later, when the group made camp again. Hatake didn't expect them to go far today; they were close to Grass country, and according to the information Intel had provided, three days ahead of schedule. The missing-nin wouldn't cross the border yet, so Squad 14 had time to prepare.

"Kakashi." Hatake looked up immediately from his book, and Tenzou frowned. Why did Kakashi pay attention to Genma, but not to him? "Do they have anyone from Rock?"

Kakashi pulled the mission scroll out of his pouch, and unrolled it. "Mist, Mist, Leaf, Sand, Cloud, Cloud. The other twenty five or so are unidentified."

"They might know about the I-K-62."

"They'd have to cross the border first. Intel says they're waiting for a contact in Fire country."

"Yeah." Genma fell silent, but he hunched uncomfortably on his branch.

"Captain?" Tenzou asked. "What's I-K-62?"

Kakashi opened his book again. "Rock safe house in Grass country. Probably still stocked from the war."

"Definitely still stocked," Genma stated. "We've been keeping an eye on their movements around here. Rock's been collecting explosives there. If our group gets their hands on them, we're in serious shit."

"Three more nights," Kakashi assured him. "They won't cross before then."

* * *

"Hey, Shino, want to play Ninja?" Kiba asked, poking the silent boy in the shoulder. Shikamaru, Chouji, and Naruto were also out recruiting.

"Tenten-chan!" Naruto called, "We're playing a big game of Ninja, want to come?" The girl smiled fiercely, pocketing her practice shuriken. Tenten was _good_ at that game.

"I'd love to."

"Great! I got a few more people to ask, but we're all meeting at the slide in the park." Naruto dashed off. "Sakura-chan!" he called next, pulling up next to the pink-haired girl. "Want to come play Ninja with everybody?"

Sakura frowned, forehead wrinkling. "Who're you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. We're in the same class," he reminded her.

"Oh. Oops." The girl smiled awkwardly. "I didn't notice you."

Naruto shrugged. "It happens." Although, with the way he and Kiba had been baiting the teacher yesterday, it was surprising she didn't know him. (That tack trick was beautiful; the teacher hadn't bothered to check for two layers of traps. Heh.) The teacher had been reaming him out every other day, and he and Kiba had decided on revenge.

The group gathered at the slide grew quickly, and the game of Ninja began. Two teams, one hiding, one searching, if you got hit with shuriken you were out. Tenten and Sakura were on Kiba and Naruto's team, Chouji, Shikamaru, Shino formed the basis of the second team. All in all, about fifteen kids played together until the sun began to set.

* * *

"There," Kakashi whispered. His black-gloved hand twitched almost imperceptibly, and nine eyes focused on the empty clearing below the ridge and a ways distant. Five hands lifted in half-seals. _Kai_. The dark, grassy opening was suddenly filled with bodies. "Sleeping," Kakashi murmured. "How many sentries, do you think?" Tonight was the final chance in Fire country.

Genma shrugged, shoulders digging into the dirt as he lay on his belly above the ridge. A single finger traced an arc around the camp. "Five there. At least three on the other side."

Hayate's raspy voice broke in. "I saw four last night."

"But it was only two before that," Tenzou added.

Genma shot him a look, invisible in the dark. "They were in a cave, Bunny. They only needed two."

Tenzou shriveled up a little. "Sorry."

"This is our last chance before the border," Kakashi reminded them all. "We can't screw up."

The ninja settled, focusing intently on the mission ahead of them. "Six to one odds," Hayate muttered. "Clones might be useful."

"Take the sentries out as quietly as possible," Kakashi ordered. "Pop a clone if you need it. Genma, you start from here. Hayate, you take the far side. Tenzou, left, I'll go right. Raidou, if you could toss up some covering genjutsu..."

"Yes, Captain."

Kakashi pulled his mask down in front of his face. The snarling wolf shone eerily in the faint starlight; a demon wolf with intent to kill. "Remember: no survivors."


	10. Grass

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto.

* * *

They split up the sentries between them. At most, they had observed nine a night, and the three days of surveillance had shown that the sentries rotated every three hours. That meant two for each of them. Tenzou slipped through the trees like a shadow. The moonlight found no metal to glint off of; they had darkened their masks and armor and the steel plates on their gloves with the concentrated, washable dye ANBU brought on most missions. The Black Ops moved unseen.

There were supposed to be eight to ten jounin in the group; Intel predicted the rest to be mid to high chuunins. The radio in Tenzou's ear crackled. "Two minutes."

Four voices whispered acquiescence. He took a position in the trees. "One minute." Tenzou marked his two targets, spaced out in a wide perimeter around the concealed camp. Simultaneously, he decided. A quick handseal, and a second masked Tenzou appeared with barely a flicker of extra chakra. "Ten seconds...five..._Now_." Tenzou dropped to the forest floor.

Around the perimeter, nine bodies fell silently into the dirt. "Approach," Kakashi's almost inaudible order came. Tenzou paced past the corpse, dismissing his clone. The trees began to thin, and he stopped behind a tall trunk, merging with the moon-shadow. "Three. Two. One. _Attack."_

They had the advantage of surprise, or at least they would have. The same ninja who had concealed the camp with genjutsu woke as soon as Raidou's covering illusion went into effect. Hayate skewered him as he began to stand, but the scent of blood woke the rest of the camp. Twenty ninja rose from the ground, grabbing weapons to fight.

Tenzou trapped one as he stumbled from his blankets with bindings of wood that sprang out of the ground to wrap around the man's ankles. He fell on his face, but shot a _katon_ jutsu at the wood, and rolled to his feet. Tenzou deflected his kunai with his own, flung a handful of shuriken at close range, then ripped a kunai across his throat for good measure. The blood splattered wetly against his fingers. Two more were charging at him from behind. Tenzou flashed through seals, and more tentacles of wood sprang from the ground, writhing like live beings. The two ninja dodged, leaping easily over the dangers. Tenzou fell back a step, hands moving again.

He broke off in the middle of his seals to draw a kunai and block the thrust of a katana. The other missing-nin launched a wind attack, and Tenzou leapt away. Twisting under the wind-user's guard, he thrust his kunai into the man's chest, just before the katana blade entered his back.

His armor saved his life; the missing-nin had misjudged the force needed to penetrate ANBU-issue vests, and only the first inch of the blade entered his flesh. The ANBU reached behind him before the man could withdraw his sword, and grasped the blade with his gloved hand. With the other, he threw a shuriken at the half-dressed, messy-haired man. The ninja released the hilt and toppled back to the bedrolls spread out on the ground, blood spurting from his neck. Tenzou ripped the blade from his back, and felt the warmth of his own blood exiting his body. Three down; he should take out at least one more.

The three had been chuunin level, Tenzou decided. That meant Kakashi and the others must be engaging the jounin. The clearing was eerily quiet, only the clash of metal and a single, thin voice wailing in the dark. No longer seeing through tunnel vision focused only on the enemies in front of him, Tenzou glanced around, trying to judge where his teammates were. The flicker of a blade over there was probably Hayate; he caught a glimpse of his silhouette as a body fell away from his katana. Then Tenzou felt the flicker of chakra behind him, a moment too late.

He spun around, kunai up but in the wrong position, as the massive club crashed down towards his skull. He lifted the kunai in a futile gesture, a split second away from having his head smashed in. He imagined he heard birds.

The mace wavered, and dropped. Tenzou fell to his knees, pushing the spiked weapon away easily, no longer being accelerated down by his attacker. The mace thudded into the dirt, and Tenzou looked up at the surprised face of the missing-nin.

Kakashi's mask appeared as the corpse slumped off his fist with a soft sucking noise. Tenzou straightened up slowly, breathing raggedly. "Thanks."

Red flashed in the eyehole of Kakashi's mask, and the young man turned away. "Don't get distracted," he said harshly. The ringing of metal had died away, the clearing suddenly still. Only the one voice broke the silence. Kakashi stalked over to where the wailing had turned to quiet sobs. He paced deliberately forward, like a wolf on the hunt. Tenzou followed, left hand pressed to his back.

The ninja was younger than Tenzou, wearing a scratched Cloud headband around his neck. He tried to scramble away from Kakashi as the dark figure bent down, blocking the moonlight, but Kakashi put a sandal on his wrist. "How many?" he asked quietly.

The boy was crying, Tenzou saw. The right side of his body was almost entirely pulped, and he wondered whose jutsu had done that. The sight made him slightly nauseous. "Thirty-two," he sobbed. "Please, let me go. I didn't do anything, please—"

Kakashi slit his throat. The other three had already melted out of the darkness to array themselves behind their captain, and watched impassively. Kakashi stood up, and glanced cursorily over his team. "Any injuries?"

Genma, leaning heavily on Raidou's shoulder, shook his head. "Nothing life-threatening." Tenzou decided not to complain about his stab wound. It was minor; he didn't have to bring it up.

"Count the bodies," Kakashi ordered, voice emotionless.

They came up with exactly thirty bodies, including the nine dead sentries. Genma called up a light, and Hatake unrolled the mission scroll. Of the six ninja specifically listed for elimination, five were present in the pile of corpses in the clearing.

Tenzou expected them to head out immediately to chase the survivors, but Kakashi stopped them. "Ankle, Genma."

The injured man grimaced, pushing back his mask to see more clearly. Raidou lowered him to the ground, and Genma unwrapped the bandages. The joint was swollen, turning purple, and obviously giving him pain. "Can you get me a painkiller?" he asked Raidou, as he began to tie it up again. "Nothing else to do," he told Kakashi. "It's not a problem."

Raidou handed him two pills from a bottle in the portable med-kits they all carried. "Rookie," Kakashi added. "Any injuries? Don't lie to me."

Hayate began to cough quietly. Tenzou nodded. "Back. It's small, though."

Kakashi walked around behind him. "Take off the vest." He wrapped Tenzou's back in a layer of bandages before he let the younger nin buckle his vest on again.

"Any tingling?" Genma asked from his seat on the blood-soaked ground. "Nausea?" Tenzou shook his head. "Probably not poisoned, then. Kakashi, if you're going to mother-hen us all, tie up that leg, or I'll make Hayate do it."

Tenzou's eyes snapped down to Kakashi's leg. In the darkness, the pale skin showing through the ripped fabric on his thigh stood out, and the black color of the lower half indicated blood. Tenzou cursed himself for being so dense as to not notice, and pulled a roll of bandages out of his own med-kit.

Kakashi pulled the cloth from his hands as he approached. His red eye still glared through the mask. "I can do it myself, rookie," he said, letting amused condescension color his voice. The wound was deep but clean, and they were ready to go less than five minutes after the fight, the massacre, ended.

Kakashi's hands were already stained with his own blood, and he performed the summoning jutsu quickly. A pack of dogs appeared in a puff of smoke. "Two ninja left here," he told them tersely. "Find them."

"Here," the smallest said after a moment, nosing the ground on the edge of the clearing. "They're heading this way, together."

"Towards Grass," Genma hissed. The five ninjas sprinted off into the night, leaving the carnage of the meadow behind.

The first hint that something was wrong came when they found the corpse. The dogs stopped suddenly, churning to a halt in a semi-circle on the ground. The ninjas dropped from the trees, and Kakashi lifted the body's head from the dirt. "It's the sixth one," he confirmed. Flipping the corpse over completely, he stared at the kunai in the man's chest. "The other killed him."

"Why?" Hayate asked, swallowing a cough. "Does he have other allies to go to?"

"We have to find him before he reaches Grass." Raidou leapt back into the trees. "Come on." Kakashi dropped the body, and they ran even faster.

The wires were well hidden, nearly invisible, and moving as fast as they were, even Kakashi missed them. The trap flung Hayate into a tree, the whiplash of taught razor-wire ripping through his ANBU vest. The explosion followed a moment later, engulfing the trees around Hayate in flames.

The rest of the squad pulled up short, spinning around as the boy's body was tossed through the air. "Hayate!" Genma shouted. Kakashi hurriedly soaked the area with a spray of water jutsu, putting out the fires threatening Hayate's limp form.

He was breathing, when they reached him, but not well. Blood slid out from between his lips, and his eyes were dazed. He groaned when Genma tried to lift him upright. "Broken ribs," the shinobi said, pressing lightly on his friend's chest. "Concussion, too." Hatake dropped to his knees, his uncovered sharingan whirling. A few unpracticed handsigns, and green light enveloped his hands. "Stop that," Genma ordered, shoving Kakashi's hands away and disrupting the healing jutsu.

"I've copied them before," Kakashi insisted.

"I know," Genma snapped, "But you couldn't help Masaru with them. Remember?" His voice was harsh, the words just as cold. "If you drain yourself here, the mission will fail."

Kakashi glared at his subordinate from behind his mask. "You'd let Hayate die?"

"I'm not...dying..." Hayate choked out. "Ribs...I've had...worse." He couldn't focus on the figures above him, couldn't seem to think straight. But he knew he wasn't dying.

"We have to go," the pug interjected. "He's pulling ahead." Kakashi glared down at his dog, but his squad was agreeing.

"Fine," he grated out. "Genma, stabilize Hayate as best you can, and stay with him. Raidou, Tenzou, with me." He gestured at two of his dogs, and growled something. They moved up to flank Hayate and Genma. "They'll stay, too," Kakashi told his teammate. Then the other three leapt into the trees again.

The missing-nin was moving fast. They crossed the border between Fire country and Grass country, still behind him. Then the pug in the lead stopped. "There," he said in his voice that sounded as gravelly as Hayate's when he was sick. "He's stopped." The three ninja peered down through the branches, to the apparently empty clearing below. A trapdoor into the ground gaped open at the edge of the trees.

"I-K-62," Kakashi murmured. "Damn you, Genma. Why'd you have to be right?"

"Are you going in?" the dog asked. "He's in there, you know. And it smells like explosives."

"Yeah."

He cast cynical eyes up at his summoner. "Don't do anything stupid, brat."

"Can you do clones, Tenzou?" Hatake's voice was quiet.

"Yes, Captain," Tenzou answered, just as serious.

"I don't have the range to send one down there, Kakashi," Raidou reminded his captain. "Not if you want us out of the blast radius."

Kakashi nodded, black mask not turning. "There won't be space for more than two, probably. Clone, Tenzou." The clone separated from Tenzou's body with a creaking of wood. Kakashi's shadow clone poofed into existence at the same time, and the two dropped to the forest floor. "Back off," Kakashi ordered his teammates. They faded back into the trees.

They only had to wait a few minutes, though the time seemed to last forever. The roar of the explosion came suddenly, a huge pillar of flame blossoming in the clearing and whipping superheated air around them. Tenzou and Kakashi flinched backwards at the influx of information as their clones were destroyed. Behind his mask, Tenzou paled. _"Back,"_ Kakashi shouted, barely heard over the deafening crackle of the fire beginning to spread. He made a hurried set of seals, and doused the area in water. But the fire continued to burn, smaller secondary explosions rocking the remains of the bunker as separate caches detonated.

The three ninja sprinted back towards their injured teammates, the dogs bounding along below them. Kakashi didn't bother asking if Hayate could be moved. "We need to go." Genma stood, his swelling ankle unstable. The only uninjured one, Raidou bent and scooped Hayate up gently in his arms. Genma had wrapped Hayate's ribs tightly and bandaged the long welts on his chest, but every time he coughed his ribs grated with pain, and Hayate's eyes still weren't focusing.

Unasked, Tenzou tucked himself under Genma's left arm. "Thanks, kid," Genma muttered. Then they were off again.

Kakashi stopped when the reached the sprawl of bodies littering the forest floor. He pulled a black bag from his hip pouch. "Keep going." When he caught up to his teammates again, the bag was tossed over his shoulder, bulging oddly.

They ran on chakra and the determination that was all too often the difference between living and dying. It took sixteen hours to cover two full days of travel; sixteen hours and more soldier pills than the medics listed as safe.

In the early hours, Kakashi filled the team in on what had happened in the bunker.

The missing-nin had been unpacking the explosives, and lighting a fuse as the clones had entered. "Back off," he had demanded, waving the sparking wick over an explosive tag.

The clones had stopped in the doorway, gazing into the stark white room of the bunker. It was packed nearly wall to wall with boxes and crates; the scent of chemicals was overwhelming.

"I thought you came to Grass for asylum," Kakashi's clone had asked. "Why would you do this?"

"I did," the man answered, the fuse dipping closer to the tag. "This is the price. As long as this place is destroyed, they'll pay my family a pension even if I die. My children won't starve."

"Why would Grass do that?" Tenzou's clone interjected. "How do you know they won't go back on their word after you're dead?"

"You village bastards always think that only your village good," the ninja spat. "Grass is an honorable village, and an honorable country. They've never broken a promise like that before. I know people who've worked for them." His hand dropped lower. Kakashi's clone began to make seals for a water jutsu. "I wouldn't do that," the ninja warned. "I can drop this faster than you can finish your jutsu." The clone stopped.

"You'll start a war." Kakashi's clone tried to reason with him. "Rock against Grass, or Grass against Fire, someone will want retribution. What about your children then?"

"They're safely in Lightning country," the ninja said. "They'll be safe. This is my mission." He had smiled, then, and let go of the fuse. The bunker was destroyed completely.

Squad 14 reached Konoha on their last dregs of chakra and a prayer that somehow they were wrong. Grass had been collecting missing-nin for months now, and the ANBU had failed to stop the trigger no one had realized was coming so soon.

They stumbled through the gates without stopping; there wasn't time. Kakashi headed straight for the Hokage tower, his team towards the hospital. Hayate wasn't conscious anymore.

Kakashi brushed past the ANBU guarding the Hokage's door; they waved him through with respect both for his position as Captain and the scent of blood clinging to his skin. Dropping the heavy bag on the floor, he bowed to his Hokage. The bag had stopped dripping blood hours before, but it still smelled of death.

"I-K-62 has been destroyed," he said, voice impassive. "Kusa ordered it."

The Hokage understood immediately; it was his job, after all. "I'll need a full report as soon as the council is convened," he said. His weathered face was hard. "Wait in the Council Room." He glanced down with distaste at the bag. "And get someone to take the heads to the Intelligence Division."

Kakashi gave the bag to one of the ANBU at the office door, then wandered down to the lower level of the Hokage tower and pushed open the tall doors of the Council Room. It was a large, curved room, windowless, but furnished with a long table surrounded by nearly twenty chairs. Kakashi pulled a chair away from the table, dragged it to the wall, and sprawled gracelessly down. He closed his own eye behind the mask; Obito's sharingan was already long shut.

The borrowed eye ached. He had come so close to losing another of his people. He should have seen that wire. Should have known the missing-nin would leave traps. Should have _expected_ it. And Tenzou was too inexperienced; his inattention had nearly gotten him killed. If Kakashi hadn't been watching him from the corner of his eye, Tenzou would be dead. Obito's eye throbbed. So close.

The door opened, and old men began to hurry into the room, pulling out chairs as they murmured to each other. _Emergency council meeting—what is going on?—does anyone know?_ Kakashi sank into the shadows, just another patch of anti-light.

The Hokage swept into the room soon after, robes swirling. "We have a situation with Kusa," he stated flatly. "It has the potential to turn into the Fourth Ninja War."

Murmurs rose around the table. "Hokage-sama," someone began.

The Hokage cut off the voices with a raised hand. "The ANBU captain leading the mission involved will give his report. Wolf-san," he called, eyes searching out Kakashi in his dark corner.

The ANBU rose silently, materializing from the shadows like a ghost. A few of the councilors started as he emerged into the light, not having noticed the ninja. Kakashi felt a flicker of disdain. Ninja _were_ the shadows; they should have expected him. _Like I should have expected the wires._ "Hokage-sama." He bowed to Sarutobi, ignoring the throb of his leg and eye. "We were assigned to eliminate a group of thirty-two missing-nin seeking asylum in Grass country," he began. "We ambushed th—"

The door slid open, and Kakashi broke off his recitation. "My apologies, Hokage-sama," the latecomer said smoothly. He glanced down the table with jet black eyes. The seats were all taken; Kakashi had moved the only free chair to the side. One of the younger councilors hurriedly stood up, offering his chair to the dour man.

The Hatake standing on the edge watched him take the seat with contempt. Uchiha Fugaku nodded to his fellow councilors, then glanced at the ANBU. His eyes narrowed. For a moment, a steely grey eye locked with the Uchiha's hard black gaze. Then the Hokage spoke again, and both broke off their glares to acknowledge him. "Welcome," he told the clan head. "Please begin again, Wolf-san."

* * *

A/N: A Naruto-less chapter...heh. He'll return, no fears. (And a chapter with no scene breaks...shocking)

And...w-wow...I never expected this story to become this popular. **Thank you** to everyone who has taken the time to review and read!

* * *

Last thing: I'm getting to a rather complex plot issue, and I'm looking for a beta. If someone would be willing to hash through some issues in the next few chapters, toss me a line. Thanks!


	11. Civilian

Disclaimer: Naruto not mine.

A/N: Time references refer to the end of the previous chapter.

* * *

_Two Days Ago:_

"Gai. I need to talk to you for a minute." His squad captain gestured to Gai, taking him to the side of the crowded cafeteria. They spoke in low voices, Gai nodding occasionally in acquiescence. Naruto watched his temporary protector break into a wide smile and nod firmly at something the sunglasses-wearing ANBU said. Anko, sitting across from him, ignored her teammates completely, too busy shoveling rice into her mouth at a pace rivaling Naruto's own.

"Hey." The voice was deep, and close to Naruto's ear. He looked up, at the man leaning over him, face contorted. "You're still here, monster?"

Anko's head snapped up, and her chair clattered backwards as she rose to her feet. "What?" she snarled. The spike in killing intent whispered out around the room, a silent force that made the air seem heavy around them. The swell of chatter around the room cut off. Dozens of eyes focused on the table by the wall. Anko stalked around the table, quivering with anger. She grabbed the front of her colleague's shirt and dragged him down to her height. "What was that, bastard?"

Naruto hunched back in his seat, uncertain at the turn of events. 'Monster' was not unusual. Someone taking offense was, even if it was Anko, who had been nice to him in the past few days. The man wrapped his hand around her wrist. Locked together by tense muscles, he leaned down to her face. "I said the demon is still here, traitor-bitch." Anko's fury degenerated into rage. The kunai was out and driving towards his chest before the words had finished leaving his mouth. His other hand came up and caught her attack, the kunai shivering in the air between them, as both grappled to obtain the advantage.

They were split apart by a well-aimed paralysis jutsu, and several pairs of hands dragging them away from each other. The short, delicate man with his hands still holding the final seal of his jutsu glared at them. "Take it outside if you're going to fight. And don't drag children into your disputes. He's under the Hokage's protection; don't forget it." Kinjo raised his voice for the last bit, letting the words carry through the dead stillness of the cafeteria. Then he dropped his seal, and released the two. "Don't kill each other," he added, as the ninja holding them let go. "That could be a capital offense."

Anko jerked her head at the other. "Out," she hissed. He followed her out of the room, the onlookers parting before them in a wave.

"I do hope they don't kill each other." Naruto looked up. Aoba and Gai were flanking him, though he hadn't noticed them arriving. Aoba sighed, and ran an anxious hand through his left-leaning hair. "Sorry about that, Naruto-kun. Some people are just assholes."

Naruto didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. Aoba got him an extra pudding for dessert, and Naruto slowly let the confrontation fade from his mind. There was no reason to hold onto bad memories like that. Much better to just enjoy his pudding and try not to get whacked in the face by Gai's exuberant gesticulations.

Anko limped in ten minutes later, one eye puffy and starting to turn black, and a strip of black shirt tied around her upper arm. She was smiling in a way reminiscent of a predator who had just eaten a very large meal. Aoba wouldn't have been surprised to see strips of skin hanging from her teeth. She threw herself down in the seat across from the three males, and grinned widely. "That bastard won't be bothering us again," she said smugly.

"Do you think someone should look at your arm?" Aoba asked, trying to be tactful. Anko had a tendency to disregard injuries, which had more than once resulted in nasty infections.

"Nah," Anko brushed him off. "Hey Naruto, want to train tomorrow after school? Gai, you come too. This is your job, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, smudging a bit of pudding across his face as he tried to wipe it away. "Yeah! That would be so cool!"

Anko laughed, and leaned over to wipe the brown mess away before Naruto could make it worse. "Let's do it, then."

* * *

_One Day Ago:_

"Sooo..." Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. "Are we training today?" Anko leaned against a tree, and ate another stick of dango. "You're going to get fat if you eat so many sweets," Naruto told her. "Nii-san said so."

Anko's eyes flashed. "He did, did he?" Raidou had better not have been talking about her, or when he got back his face was going to look a lot worse than it already did. "And we'll start as soon as Gai gets here."

"Why aren't you on a mission?" Naruto asked. "Ninja are supposed to do missions, right?"

The teenager grimaced. "Yeah. Gai's got broken ribs, though, and the medics can override even the captains." Not that Aoba would have petitioned for a mission; he was enjoying being lazy too much.

"Can't we train _now_?" Naruto whined. "Waiting is boring."

Anko's grin was almost feral. "Sure." And in the next fifteen minutes, Naruto learned more about avoiding kunai than he had even known was possible. "Duck left! Idiot, if it's going to curve, don't move back! Right right right! Just pull it out, kid, it's not serious." Luckily, Naruto healed quickly, and Anko didn't bother thinking about injuries that were anything other than life threatening.

Gai was astonished when he arrived at the training field to find his temporary ward evading a hail of lethal weapons, and laughing. Anko had brought out senbon when her kunai ran out, and was mixing shuriken in for diversity. As he stood on the edge of the danger zone, Anko dug in her pouch again. "Here, Naruto, try this!"

The explosion was small, but loud and searing. Naruto jumped out of the way, and broke into uncontrollable giggles. "That was great, Anko-san! More, more!" Eventually, Anko ran out of explosive tags, and Gai hurriedly took over before she could start summoning snakes on the boy.

The arrival of a small party interrupted the training session. Gai, in the middle of his six hundred self-imposed vertical pushups didn't look up at the pressure of approaching chakra on his senses, but Naruto, valiantly trying to balance on his hands long enough to do even one of Gai's odd exercises, fell over and lifted his head to see the visitors. "Old man!" he shouted happily, throwing his sweat-soaked and dirty body at the Hokage's pristine white robes. The two ANBU guards behind the Hokage settled back, giving him space to finish his visit.

"Naruto," Sandaime said calmly, returning the hug. "How are you?"

"Great! Nii-san is on a mission," he said proudly, "But Anko-san and Gai-san have been helping me train! You want to see?" He twisted away to run to Anko, who had straightened from her apathetic slouch against the trees to bow to the Hokage. Gai, too, had flipped off his hands to pay his respects to Sarutobi.

The Hokage caught Naruto by the shoulder, halting his proposed training demonstration. "I would love to see that, Naruto, but we don't have time today."

Naruto paused, turning back to his first friend and favorite old man. "Why?"

Sarutobi patted his shoulder. "You're going home, today." He smiled proudly at the little boy.

Naruto's face showed his confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked. "It's not dinnertime yet." Gai-san had said they could train until it was time to eat. He glanced between the tall, green-clad man and the Hokage.

"Not back to ANBU, Naruto. To a family, a real family," the Hokage explained, his face softening as he looked at Naruto.

"But I have a family," Naruto protested. His face scrunched up. "I don't want to leave!"

"What do you mean, Naruto?" the Hokage asked kindly. Then, in confusion, "Who is 'Nii-san'?"

"Raidou-nii-san," Naruto said, as if it were obvious. "And Hayate-san and Kakashi-san and Genma-san, and now Gai-san and Anko-san too! They're my family!" He took a breath. "I like it here."

Sarutobi frowned. Naruto considered the ANBU his family? He called Raidou 'nii-san' as well. That was not good. The odds for coming back unharmed from an ANBU mission were about 60 percent against. Twenty-five to thirty percent of the type of missions Squad 14 ran resulted in fatalities. For Raidou's squad, the odds were slightly better, which was part of the reason those five ninja were given these missions, but it was likely that Raidou would end up leaving ANBU only on paper. This was why Sarutobi had protested so long on letting Naruto live at ANBU. He didn't want Naruto to have to lose another family.

He took Naruto's hand in his own. It was best to separate them before the attachment could become stronger, and the loss all that much more painful. "You'll like it there, too, Naruto."

"Hokage-sama," Gai asked suddenly. "Is Naruto leaving ANBU?" His usually boisterous voice was constrained.

The Hokage nodded. "I told Raidou-san when I agreed for Naruto to come here that it would only be for a month, because there was nowhere else suitable. That time is nearly up. I'll send someone to collect his things. Thank you for your efforts, Gai-san, Anko-san." It was a clear dismissal, and the two ANBU bowed. Gai looked somber; Anko, pissed off. Still holding Naruto's hand, the Hokage led the boy away.

"But old man, I don't want to go away," Naruto whined as they walked back into the town.

"It will be better," Sarutobi said reassuringly. The soft dirt of the path through the trees squished under their sandals, and the trees blocked most of the harsh sunlight. It was pleasant there in the woods, with the scent of greenery and warm soil, and it soothed Sautobi's worries. "I found a nice lady for you to stay with, Naruto. She's got two kids; a little one, and one a bit older than you."

Naruto pouted. "Older kids don't like me." He dragged a toe in the dirt as they walked, leaving trenches in his wake. Unnoticed, the ANBU behind them automatically erased the ridges.

"These ones will," the Hokage assured him. "You can't stay in ANBU forever, Naruto. It's not a healthy environment for you." The constant tension, the instability of never knowing who died that day. Tempers always tight, half the people still on edge from missions. The habitual violence. Sarutobi remembered his own years with the force, decades ago, with an emotion approaching revulsion.

Naruto suddenly halted and spun around. "Miyagi-san, do you think I have to leave?" he asked pleadingly to the pale-haired ANBU walking behind them. Miyagi stopped, so as not to run into him, but didn't answer. His duty was to protect the Hokage right now.

The Hokage turned, curious. "Migayi-san?"

The ANBU cleared his throat awkwardly. "I do not object to Naruto's presence, but surely the Hokage knows best."

Sarutobi nodded. "You'll like your new family."

"I like the family I have," Naruto muttered rebelliously.

* * *

_Present Time:_

Raidou didn't protest when the nurses took Hayate from his arms, laying him carefully on a gurney and wheeling him quickly away. But when they maneuvered Genma off of Tenzou's supporting shoulder, and began to lead him down the hall, Raidou followed. One of the nurses tried to stop him, but Raidou growled at her and she backed down. Most people knew not to argue with ANBU coming off missions, or with any ninja reacting on a hair-trigger.

He commandeered the chair by Genma's bed, and refused to be moved to the second bed in the room as the medic re-healed his mutilated ankle. When Genma showed no signs of being disturbed by his location, Raidou let himself slowly relax. He was too tired to protest when the nurses finally dragged him to a bed. He was too exhausted to do more than mumble objections as they slid an IV needle into his hand and told him that if he got up before twelve hours had passed he'd find himself with a concussion worse than Hayate's. That had been reassuring, because Raidou took it to mean that Hayate would live.

They'd put something in the bag other than the standard solution of water, salts, and chakra replenishers, Raidou told himself later. That had to be why he'd fallen asleep so hard and so fast. He woke, aching and still drained. In the bed across the room, Genma was flipping through a folder of documents. His ankle was trapped in a thick plaster cast and lifted up in traction. Raidou turned his head, but they were alone in the room. "Genma," he said, and was surprised at how scratchy his voice sounded.

"Raidou, you're awake," Genma exclaimed. He grinned across the room at his friend. "Finally. I thought you'd sleep forever."

"Hayate?"

"He's fine. They've got Tenzou tied down in a room with him."

"What's wrong with Tenzou?" he managed to ask.

"Same as you. Chakra depletion, exhaustion, dehydration. You're lucky you were out of it when the medic came in and bitched about being irresponsible on missions." Genma snorted. "Idiots."

Raidou fiddled with the needle in his hand as Genma continued his rant about medics who had never been in the field. Even propped up in a hospital bed, Genma had a senbon in his mouth. He was chewing it absently as he spoke, but Raidou didn't see any of the frantic tension Genma often felt in hospitals. "Kakashi came in a while ago," Genma added. "Said the council's going crazy over this Kusa situation."

Raidou grimaced, and ripped the tape off his hand. "Has Gai been here?"

"No, why? Hokage's afraid Grass is trying to force a war."

He pulled the needle from his vein, ignoring the hot pain rippling from the puncture. "How long have we been here?"

"Got in yesterday afternoon. It's four o'clock now. Why?" Genma eyed him warily.

"Trying not to get my head bashed in by angry nurses," Raidou said wryly. "I'm going to find Naruto."

"Oh. Tell him hi from me. I can't exactly stand yet." Genma made a face at his ankle. "And I've already been screamed at for ruining the medics' hard work once."

Raidou nodded. "Are you going to be okay if I leave?"

"Yeah." Genma's eyes flickered away from his. "I've got enough to focus on." He tapped the folder. "Records of Grass contacts; Niigata dropped them off."

"What does he want you to do with them?" Raidou frowned. "I thought that was strictly Intel business."

"I know half of them personally," Genma grinned. "Can the rest of Intel say that?"

Sometimes he forgot Genma's ties with the Intel division. "Well, you keep on with that, then," Raidou said awkwardly. Even Kakashi didn't have the clearance to see most of the files in Genma's hands right now.

Genma waved as Raidou left, stumbling slightly against the door, then turned back to his papers. He wasn't technically Intel; he was a squad-bound Hunter. That didn't stop the Intel jerks from using him as often as they could. Genma, both on Squad missions and solo, had worked dozens of Intelligence missions. It was what he had trained as when he was a genin; it was what he was good at. But one infiltration gone bad, and Genma abandoned any hope of an Intel career. His lips curled bitterly as he read through the files. Yet he still couldn't let it go—he had been made for this role. So now they used him, but wouldn't let him be one of them.

They used to graduate the genin young. Not as young as Kakashi, of course, but Genma, who was nothing special, not really, had been on the field by the time he was eight, when the war was still a 'situation.' That 'situation' had taught Genma everything he needed to know, or at least thought he did, about human nature and the extremes of life.

They gave him his first infiltration mission because he was good-looking. A cute kid, an innocent kid, he could get in anywhere. Genma knew Kakashi had gotten a few of the same types, later, but Kakashi had had that hardness of a veteran even when he was six years old, a bearing of steel that made the baby-fat plumping his cheeks seem a crude lie. Genma had been silk when he was younger. Silk and honey and gold. He took the next mission because he was good at it, and because no one had died the last time. It was a good feeling, to complete a mission and come home, with all his teammates still possessing all their limbs. By then, he was trapped. The missions gradually became more than just in and out on an endearing smile and a few tears. The 'situation' was stepping up. Whispers spoke of war.

By the time the rumors were fact, Genma was tucked away with a broken mind in a hellish building on the outskirts of the village with white walls and dozens of deranged shinobi. Ten years old had been too young for what was demanded of him. One failed seduction infiltration, and four days in the bowels of an Iwa bunker, left the child 'unsuitable for missions.'

Raidou had saved him, brought him back into the world. And they both had returned to the, now official, war. But Genma, even over a decade later, wasn't healed. He was still jagged edges and sharp corners barely covered by an artificial grace and soft fluidity. He couldn't ever be a full Intel operative, but they could, and did, use him to build a network of informants stretching across the whole of western Fire country and eastern Grass country. That was the folder in his hands, as he marked the names Niigata could use to blackmail news of troop movements, bribe for village secrets, or coerce into sabotage. Genma knew that if he died, Intel would just slide a new agent into his role, but for now, it was his consolation.

A consolation that, nevertheless, was essential right now. Genma read the files with more intensity than he usually applied to anything, including life and death fights, and even drinking alcohol. If Kusa twisted this blown-up bunker into a war, or even into a 'situation,' Naruto would be the next generation on the field. Something inside Genma wrenched when he thought of that joyful little boy pinned on the floor in a dark room in enemy territory, crying and in pain. Naruto had promised to protect him; the least he could do was make sure he never ended up where Genma had.

* * *

Raidou slipped through the halls of the hospital without attracting notice. On the floor below, he broke into a storage closet with a quick application of chakra, and liberated a clean uniform from the stack of standard chuunin wear kept for discharged patients. His own uniform had mysteriously disappeared from the hospital room, one of the nurses' ways of keeping wayward patients confined to the building. Luckily for Raidou, nearly all the ANBU knew where the nurses stored the extra uniforms.

Dressed in nondescript black, he made his way easily out of the building. This time of day, Naruto should be done with school already. Raidou made a list of all the possible places Naruto could be in his head. _HQ,_ was the first option, but the farthest away. _The park _was likely, and close. _Training fields_ came next, but ANBU's were at headquarters, and there were literally dozens of common grounds. _Park first, _he decided.

But the park, when he reached it, breathing more difficultly than he wanted to admit, was empty. A single swing moved absently in the breeze, a lonely reminder of children not present. He headed towards headquarters next, to find Gai. But Gai was nowhere to be found, and the ANBU on desk duty said Aoba's squad had been sent to the western border on patrol. Raidou checked Naruto's room, but it was empty. Empty even of his clothes and weapons, and the stack of cup ramen he insisted on always having. A reflex, perhaps, the ramen; too many days without food instilled eating habits and hoarding habits that were difficult to break.

Naruto was undeniably and inexplicably gone. Raidou's nerves were still strung tight from the mission, and his adrenaline level shot up again. _Where was Naruto?_

He hurried back to the desk, but the ANBU said he hadn't seen Naruto since yesterday.

The Hokage tower was rarely empty, and Raidou's unsubtle entrance drew several stares from the chuunin running errands in the lower halls. "Excuse me." One of the ninja stepped in front of him, blocking his way down the hall. "What is your business here?" Raidou glared. Sure, he probably looked suspicious, with red eyes, an ill-fitting uniform and sleep-tangled hair, but that was no reason not to let him see the Hokage. And if that bureaucratic paper-pusher was looking at his scar and not his eyes, he was going to get a fist in the face.

The chuunin was saved an unwanted rearrangement of his features by the appearance of the Hokage himself. Trailed by several council members, jounin and a reinforced ANBU escort, the Hokage was listening to a subordinate reading from a stack of papers as the entourage hurried through the halls. "Hokage-sama!" Raidou shouted, pushing carelessly past the chuunin.

Sarutobi looked up at the shout, but simply lifted a hand in dismissal. Raidou ran after the group. "Hokage-sama!"

"You can't bother the Hokage now," one of the jounin snapped. "He's very busy."

Raidou shoved the man out of his way, and finally got the Hokage's attention. "What is it?" the old man asked, looking at the distraught ninja but not slowing. He waved the ninja with the papers silent.

"Where's Naruto?" Raidou demanded, too agitated to maintain politeness.

"At home, I assume," the Hokage told him. Even in the midst of a crisis he would spare a moment for Naruto.

"He's not," Raidou's muscles tensed even more. "I checked everywhere, cafeteria, his rooms, the training grounds—"

"Gai didn't tell you? The month ended, and I found a more suitable home." The Hokage had reached a door, and he turned to grip the doorknob.

Raidou stopped. "A more suitable home?" he repeated, shocked.

The Hokage nodded, and smiled benevolently at him. "Thank you for watching over him in the interim." He pulled open the door and disappeared, his train of staff sweeping in behind him, leaving Raidou alone in the suddenly desolate hall. He slumped back against the wall, feeling weak, exhausted, and alone. Naruto was gone.

* * *

Momotami-san's house was a lot like Sasaki-san's house, and nothing like home. Small and immaculately clean, it was a modern construction of wood siding and unadorned concrete. Like much of the city, it stood slightly lopsided but steady. Compared to the space and complexity of ANBU, it was miniscule and boring. Momotami Kimiko had a daughter, older than Naruto, and a toddler son. She gave him his own room at the back of the house, and smiled at him when the Hokage dropped him off on her doorstep.

In the morning she sent him to the Academy with a packed lunch and a smile. Naruto tried to smile back, but he was bewildered and still annoyed at being removed from ANBU without his opinion even being asked. Sad, too, at his removal. Momotami-san's smile was sweet, but it wasn't Raidou's lopsided, scarred smirk. But he had to admit that her lunch was better than Raidou's as he opened the black lacquer box at lunchtime. Old rice balls from ANBU's kitchens did not measure up to much of anything, let alone Momotami's carefully designed bento.

"Ne, Naruto, what's with the lunch?" Kiba stuck his nose where Naruto spread the bento out on his knees. They were sitting under the tree in the yard behind the school. Chouji rocked gently on the single swing as he munched his way through a bag of chips. Shikamaru had laid himself out on the grass just beyond the tree's shadow, eyes trained on the sky as he ate absently. Kiba sniffed Naruto's lunch, then snagged a piece of fish with his fingers. "It's good!" he said around the mouthful.

"Hey! That's my lunch!" Naruto protested, pushing Kiba's face away and hunching protectively over his food. He snatched one of Kiba's chips in retaliation, and ate it before the Inuzuka could take it back.

Kiba stuck out his tongue, then pulled it back in to say, "Your brother go to cooking school or something? What happened to those rice balls?"

Naruto's smug grin faded. He looked down at his lunch, and prodded a piece of fish with his chopsticks. "Not living with nii-san anymore," he mumbled. "Got sent to some old hag again."

"Well, she cooks good!" Kiba said, dodging around Naruto's chopsticks to filch another piece of his lunch.

The blond boy swatted half-heartedly at his hand and mumbled a noncommittal "Ehh."

Momotami-san picked him up after school, and they walked back to her house. She carried his backpack and lunch box, but Naruto wouldn't let her hold his hand. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts, and sidled a few steps away from her. Kimiko sighed, but didn't press the issue. "How was school today, Naruto?" she asked, instead.

"Fine," he mumbled.

"Anything interesting happen?" she tried.

"Kiba put a frog in the teacher's coffee." Naruto couldn't suppress the grin that bloomed on his face, remembering that. Oh, how the chuunin had yelped.

Kimiko clicked her tongue in disapproval. "That's not a nice thing to do." The smile faded, and he shrugged uncaringly. "What do you want to do this afternoon?" she inquired, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Can you help me with my shuriken?" he asked.

Kimiko was surprised at the request, but she shook her head. "I'm not a ninja," she said with a forced little smile. "And you shouldn't spend all your time training, Naruto. Kids should have time to play, and have fun."

Naruto scowled. "But I want to train. Raidou-nii-san would have let me train."

She sighed softly. "Naruto, Naruto."

"What?" he demanded petulantly, kicking at a rock.

"How about I make cookies when we get home?" Kimiko suggested, turning the subject away from violence. She wasn't really comfortable with knowing Naruto had lived at ANBU, and was training to be a ninja. Her daughter was in a civilian school, not the Academy, and when her son was old enough, he would also not be attending the Academy. But Hokage-sama had asked her to let Naruto continue at the Academy, so she would let him. That didn't mean she had to approve of his dream to be a ninja.

"Can you make ramen?" he asked, mind effectively on food now. "I like ramen."

Kimiko's eyes crinkled. "Do you want me to teach you?"

"Yeah!"

After cookies, a lesson on making ramen broth, and dinner (which was just as good as lunch), Kimiko turned Naruto loose to play for the few hours before sunset. He made his way to one of the training grounds nearby, and practiced throwing shuriken at a log. It was lonely, and frustrating, because no matter what he tried, he couldn't seem to get the new technique the teacher had shown them today to work.

In this technique, he was supposed to hold three shuriken in each hand, and throw all six all at once at the log. If he did it right, they should hit in a vertical line. Of course, the technique could be adapted to aim the projectiles wherever the thrower wanted them, but a straight line was most basic. Uchiha Sasuke, the stuck-up, black-haired boy in his class, had gotten it on the first try. Naruto, after three hours practicing, still could only get two to stick in the log. The rest bounced off or missed entirely. His face fell as yet again the six shuriken hit the target with a dull thud and dropped to the dirt. Naruto walked over and bent down to retrieve the metal stars. Time to try again.

* * *

It took Raidou nearly two hours to find the right chuunin to ask about Naruto. It took an hour more and a complex genjutsu to find an opportunity to break into the records room, and twenty minutes to crack the lock on Naruto's file. Then he had to put everything back the way he had found it, erase his chakra prints, and reset the locks with a falsified chakra signature. Genma could have done the chakra forgery better than Raidou ever could, and Raidou's efforts would be immediately noticed by anyone looking more closely than a cursory glance, but it was good enough for now. He would take whatever flak came out of this later. Now, he had to go find Naruto.

The house was in a relatively nice side of town, quite different from where Raidou had grown up and lived before moving into ANBU housing. He straightened his shirt, hoping he didn't look too disreputable, and knocked.

The woman who opened the door was of middling height, slightly plump, with graying brown hair tied loosely back in a short braid. She was wiping soapy water off her hands onto a stained apron tied over a civilian outfit. He checked instinctively for weapons, analyzing the threat she posed. He came up with: absolutely none. The woman wasn't a ninja, wasn't even a particularly threatening civilian. "Hello," he said politely.

"Hello," she mirrored, sounding a little surprised at the sight of a shinobi on her doorstep. A shinobi whose over-bright eyes and pale face suggested he ought to be in a bed instead of knocking on people's doors. Despite being obviously unwell, Raidou still maintained the poised grace of the elite shinobi, and even without the rippling scar glaring down on the woman he would have been imposing.

"Is Uzumaki Naruto here?" Raidou asked, trying to smile at the woman who had stolen Naruto away. _Idiot, _he told himself. _Not her fault._

Kimiko pursed her lips. "Why?" She was not going to let random, violent-looking shinobi into her house.

"I'm a friend," Raidou said. "I just wanted to talk to him a bit."

Kimiko's eyes suddenly flashed with recognition. "You're Namiashi, aren't you? The Hokage said something about you. Namiashi...Ryou?"

"Raidou," he corrected. "Yes. Can I talk to Naruto?"

"No." Kimiko's face softened, but she shook her head firmly. "I want Naruto to settle in here. Please don't come back."

Raidou stood immobile for a moment, unable to believe the complete rejection. "I just got back from a mission, can't I—"

"I'm sorry, Namiashi-san, but no. Naruto does not need more confusion in his life. Please leave."

"Confusion!" Raidou barely restrained himself from grabbing her shirt and pulling her up to yell in her face. That would only get him permanently blacklisted, and confirm whatever prejudices she had about ninja or ANBU. "I'm part of the first family he's had, ma'am. Surely I can say goodbye. Please," he almost pleaded.

She remained stubbornly in the doorway. Crossing her arms over her chest, she moved her head in a negative. "I'm sorry, Namiashi-san. But it is better like this. Cut the bonds cleanly."

"Have you ever had bonds cut?" he demanded fiercely, repeating her words with a hint of disgust. "Do you know how it feels to lose someone without even a word of farewell?"

"Namiashi-san—"

"You don't. You couldn't have, if you think like that." Raidou's hands clenched into fists by his sides. "You're wrong," he said more quietly.

"Leave now, Namiashi-san," Kimiko ordered firmly. "Or I'll have the police remove you."

Raidou snarled silently, turning quickly away.

"Namiashi-san." He looked back. "I will tell him you came by, if you wish." Kimiko twisted her apron nervously. "I just think seeing you would encourage his discontent," she added, trying awkwardly to explain herself to the scarred man.

Raidou nodded sharply, then walked down the street. Kimiko watched him until he turned the corner, then shut her front door. She sighed, and ran a hand over her hair. It was so sad, that doing the right thing should hurt so much.

Raidou waited until she had gone back inside, then slipped around to the back of the house, keeping out of sight. A quick check in the windows and a scan for Naruto's unique, and slightly disturbing, chakra signature revealed that he was not at home. So Raidou scaled a convenient tree near the road, and waited. It was getting dark, but he wasn't about to abandon Naruto to some random civilian woman without even saying goodbye.

* * *

Naruto slouched down the street, hands shoved deep in his pockets, his shuriken gathered up and tossed back into his pouch. The sun was setting, and he still couldn't get the throwing thing to work right. Scuffing his feet along the pavement and scowling at his sandals, he almost missed the whisper from the tree. "Psst, Naruto!" Raidou dropped out of the tree in a liquid drip of black cloth. Naruto jumped back, startled, but then his frown dropped away to be replaced by a huge grin.

"Raidou-nii-san!" He threw himself at the ANBU, hugging his knees, and was enveloped in strong arms in return. "Missed you," Naruto mumbled into Raidou's shoulder as the man knelt down in front of him.

"Missed you, too," Raidou whispered. "You can't let," he searched his memory for the name he had glimpsed in the file, "Momotami-san know I was here."

Naruto nodded. "Okay."

"How have you been?" Raidou asked, pushing Naruto away to look him over.

"Gai-san and Anko-san are nice," Naruto said, then shuddered a little. "But weird. Really really really weird."

Raidou laughed quietly. "Yeah."

"But then the old man made me come here," Naruto told him. Raidou was used to Naruto's casual treatment of authority, but still found it funny when Naruto called the supreme commander of ANBU and all the shinobi in the village "the old man."

"Is she good to you?" he demanded, concerned.

Naruto rolled his shoulders. "She's nice. But it's not the same. I want to go home." His blue eyes peered hopefully up at Raidou. "Now you're back, can I come home?"

Raidou sighed, a mixture of sadness and frustration. "The Hokage says you can't. I can't disobey him."

Naruto's face fell. "Oh."

"But I'll visit," Raidou assured him. "Every day that I'm in the village. As long as you don't tell Momotami-san," he added conspiratorially.

Naruto's habitual grin reappeared. "Heh. That's not as good as going back, but okay."

Raidou leaned back against the tree, angling his body so he was out of sight of the house. "So what were you doing out so late?" he inquired.

"Training," Naruto told him, sitting down on his lap. "The teacher showed us this new shuriken thing, but I can't get it right. Sasuke can though," he added sourly.

"Show me," Raidou told him. They stood up, and Naruto pulled out six shuriken, arranging them between his fingers. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he flung the weapons at the tree, arms ending up outspread behind him.

Five of the shuriken bounced off the tree. One stuck, wobble a little, then peeled slowly out as its weight was pulled down by gravity. It hit the dirt with a soft thud. Naruto glowered at it. "See?"

"Pick up your shuriken," Raidou ordered. Naruto retrieved the weapons and returned to his position. "Curve your fingers a little more," Raidou advised, moving Naruto's hands into the correct form. "When you throw, snap your wrists and follow all the way through with your elbows and shoulders. Try."

This time, three of the six hit the tree and stuck. "Better," Raidou praised, knocking a stray shuriken to the ground with a quickly thrown senbon. "Try again. No, you've got your fingers back in the old position. Curve them." Naruto threw the weapons again, and embedded four of them solidly in the wood.

"Yes!" he shouted joyfully. "It's working!"

Raidou grinned back at him. "You still need more practice," he reminded the boy. "Four out of six is good, but not good enough." But his tone held no harshness, and he clapped Naruto on the back. Naruto dashed over to the tree to pull out his shuriken and try again.

"Naruto!" The two looked guiltily over at the house, and Raidou slipped into the shadow of the tree. "What are you doing?" Kimiko demanded from the doorway. "It's already dark out! Come inside, now."

From his hiding place, Raidou waved goodbye as Naruto headed reluctantly inside. The door closed behind him with a click, but now Raidou was smiling as he sauntered down the road in the dusk.

* * *

A/N: So, longer wait, but a 6,000+ word chapter! That's twice the average length, folks. Please excuse any uncaught errors in this chapter; still looking for a beta (hint hint). Coming up next: Naruto-ness, ANBU-angst, and political pressure. NAP! Also, updates may slow down eventually (blame real life).

Review!


	12. Consequences of the Game

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto._

* * *

The happiness drained away as Raidou sat slumped at a table in the busy ANBU cafeteria. Alone again, he tried not to think of what Naruto was doing right now. Probably eating with that woman and whatever family she had. From a few seats down, someone barked out a harsh laugh. Raidou glanced over. One of the two ninja sitting across from each other at the speckled plastic tabletop was telling some sort of story or joke. "...so he caught the bastard in the gut with six shuriken. And the best part is that..." Raidou stopped listening. Naruto was probably talking about some prank or what Kiba had done that day. A bitter smile twisted his lips. Maybe the Hokage was right.

Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore. Lifting his tray, he pushed his chair out and moved to deposit his plate and utensils at the counter. As he turned away, his eyes brushed over the entrance, where two ninja had just arrived. Kinjo's sleek black hair shone damply from a recent shower; beside him, Matsuda's face was still pink from hard scrubbing. They moved slowly, standing a little closer together than their indifferent acquaintance would normally merit. When Kinjo stumbled for seemingly no reason, Matsuda caught his elbow and steadied him. Raidou watched them approach the food counter and pick up trays. The taller man leaned against it, and he saw Matsuda's eyes close briefly, his face slipping from its forced half-smile into a slack, exhausted expression. He rubbed his hands over his face, then straightened again with poker face back in place as Kinjo stepped ahead of him in line to get his food. Raidou, frozen against the perpendicular wall, moved again.

He slipped out of the cafeteria with a new burden heavy on his mind. He hadn't even known Kinjo had been out on a mission, but from their bearings, he knew it must have been bad. A hundred, a thousand ways it might have left them like that. The best Raidou could hope for was running a little too fast for a little too long. Probably, Kinjo would be alright by tomorrow. A little sleep, a little food, a little alcohol if it came down to it. Probably, he didn't even want Raidou to stick his nose in. Kinjo would be fine. He'd check on him tomorrow. Screw Matsuda. But even that insensitive, morally corrupt son-of-a-bitch looked like the mission had affected him. Raidou sighed aloud as he climbed the stairs to his floor. He couldn't face dealing with Kinjo's problems now.

In his room, stripping off his borrowed clothes and getting into bed, he couldn't escape the thoughts. Naruto out there in the village with that stranger-woman. His friend facing a bad post-mission. His team still in the hospital. His village on the brink of war. And always, back to Naruto. Guilt squirmed its insidious way into his gut. Was it wrong to focus so much on Naruto? He wasn't Naruto's family, he wasn't what was best for him, and right now he had other responsibilities. So why did couldn't he shake the feeling that the room across the hall shouldn't be empty? Why did Naruto take a higher priority than Kinjo, when he'd only known Naruto for a few months, and Kinjo for years? What was wrong with him, that he worried more about Momotami not knowing that Naruto didn't sleep well if the door was left open than that his whole village might tomorrow be plunged into that special hell called war?

At midnight he was still awake, staring at the dark ceiling. At one in the morning, he went down to the deserted fields near the complex and kicked trees until dawn.

* * *

Raidou sneaked over the next afternoon to meet Naruto at the training grounds. He dragged Kakashi with him as well, literally grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him away from the memorial to go train with Naruto. Most of Kakashi's day had been spent answering questions in council sessions, questions that had already been asked and answered dozens of times. Kakashi came reluctantly, but he was unwilling to use force against his teammate, even to escape. It was a nice side effect of the memorial that Kakashi rarely argued with his teammates after being there. The agreeable personality usually lasted for only five minutes or so, but that was enough for Raidou to get him to the right training ground.

"So, Naruto, what did you learn in school today?" Raidou asked when they arrived.

"We're learning Konoha's history," he said. Naruto sat on the thick grass, legs splayed out in front of him, where he had fallen down after the ninjas' abrupt appearance. They had startled him out of a spar with the air, Naruto jabbing punches at an imaginary opponent and dodging fake counterattacks. "Teacher talked about the First Hokage today. Hokages are cool," he added thoughtfully. "But they were cutting the grass on the training fields, so teacher made us practice cleaning shuriken again."

"No." Kakashi lifted his head from his book. "I am _not_ helping him practice clean shuriken."

Raidou huffed a small laugh. "Have you got that technique down yet?" he asked Naruto. "The one from yesterday?"

Naruto grinned and grabbed six shuriken from his hip pouch. "Watch me!" He positioned his feet carefully, and threw the shuriken. "I practiced at lunch," he said proudly. Five of the six were embedded firmly in a line. Sadly, the sixth was spinning to a halt on Kakashi's index finger.

"You nearly hit my book," Kakashi said blankly. "My book..." He seemed almost in shock. "My poor book..."

"Ne, what's so great about your book?" Naruto demanded, stalking over to retrieve his shuriken. He was greatly annoyed that Kakashi hadn't even looked at his technique, and expressed it with his best glower.

"It's great literature!" Kakashi told him, oblivious. "See, it's about this girl who—"

"Not one more _word_, Kakashi," Raidou cut in. "He's five years old. You are _not_ going to tell him about your porn."

"It's not porn!" Kakashi protested.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi snorted a laugh, dropping his outrage in exchange for tormenting Raidou. "Yes, Raidou, what's that?"

The older man's face flamed red, an odd effect with the scarred side remaining stubbornly pale. "Something very bad, that Kakashi shouldn't be reading," he said firmly. "And you shouldn't read, either, Naruto."

"That's okay," the boy said brightly. "I can't read anyways."

Kakashi frowned. "Is that normal?" he asked Raidou.

"How should I know?" Raidou responded. "When did you learn?"

"When I was three. But I'm a genius," Kakashi reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, _sure_," Raidou said dryly. "So you rot your brain with garbage like that so you don't get too much smarter than the rest of us?"

"When did you learn?" Kakashi demanded. He pointedly ignored the jibe about his reading material.

Raidou scowled. "Not your business."

"We need to know to figure out if you need to teach Naruto to read," Kakashi reminded him righteously.

"When I was twelve," Raidou muttered.

"Twelve?" Kakashi was incredulous. "Twelve?"

"I was too busy training," he indignantly tried to justify himself. "It's not like it was important if I could read back then. I got a break from missions when I was twelve, so I decided to learn."

Naruto decided to input his two cents, finally having retrieved all his shuriken from the tree and Kakashi. "I'd rather learn more shuriken."

"Not a choice," Raidou snapped, glaring at Kakashi. "I'm going to teach you to read. If Kakashi could do it, you can."

"Good," Kakashi smirked. "We don't want him ending up like you, after all."

The insults turned into a quite impressive sparring match, which in turn, developed into a taijutsu lesson for Naruto. The two shinobi finally left when Raidou realized Naruto had to get back to that woman's home soon. He really wished Naruto could just come back and live with them again.

* * *

"We should fortify the border."

"No. That would antagonize them."

"We _have_ to protect the western villages."

Kakashi slouched against the wall, his mask and armor clean and ghostly white. He didn't understand why the Hokage insisted he be here for these council meetings. The old men were just bickering among themselves, and getting absolutely nothing done.

"Send ANBU squads," someone suggested.

"We've already got four squads patrolling over there."

"Any news from Suna yet?"

"No," the Hokage answered. "I am expecting a response from the Kazekage by tomorrow, however."

"The Fourth worked so hard for peace," someone sighed. "To think that we'd be back at war so soon..." The council fell silent for a moment, as each absorbed that statement and responded with internal regret or resentment.

"To think that history should repeat itself," a soft voice added. "Once again, the Hatake line has brought us war." Kakashi stiffened. "Perhaps we should send Kusa a gesture of apology. Take responsibility for the damage."

The complete stillness was tense. The other village leaders stared with bated breath at the Uchiha clan head. "Uchiha-san," the Hokage began. "Hatake-san completed his mission successfully. He did nothing wrong."

"We face a war because of his incompetence," Fugaku said coldly. "He has dishonored himself and his village."

"He has done no such thing," the Hokage said sharply.

Fugaku turned to the rest of the council. "One sacrifice could avert the war. We did it two years ago, with Lightning." A few people flinched, and Hyuuga Hiashi glared furiously at the other clan head.

"That was unavoidable, Uchiha," Hiashi said frostily. "You do not even know if Kusa will accept such a reparation."

"That is beside the point," Fugaku replied, smiling back politely. "Hatake Kakashi's dishonor still stains the village."

"You're suggesting suicide?" Hiashi locked gazes with the Uchiha. "Please keep your personal vendettas out of this council, Uchiha. The council is not concerned with his eye, or your bruised pride."

"The council should be concerned with the safety of the village," Fugaku responded frostily. "Hatake has compromised that."

As Hiashi drew breath to attack his rival again, Sarutobi fluidly inserted himself into the quickly degenerating exchange. "Kakashi, perhaps you should leave now," he suggested.

The shinobi bowed stiffly. "Yes, Hokage-sama," he said tightly. There was no flicker of killing intent, no flare of chakra. Rather, the absence was intimidating in itself. To the assembled ninja, such absolute control spoke more of danger than even killing intent could have. As the door clicked behind Kakashi, the Hokage signaled one of his ANBU guards. A few whispered words, and the man followed the Hatake out.

* * *

Kakashi pushed into Genma's room with barely a knock on the door. "Genma." The man propped up on a stack of pillows looked up at him. Kakashi's voice was flat.

"Hey, captain." He put the stack of papers and his pen to the side, gesturing Kakashi into the room.

The uniformed ANBU went straight to the issue. "The council wants me to kill myself."

Genma's mouth flapped for a moment. "What?" he finally squeaked. "Are you kidding me?"

Kakashi pushed his snarling mask off, and his tired grey eye brushed across Genma's gaze, before falling to the bedcovers. "War's my fault," he muttered. "It's just like my father."

Genma struggled to sit up straighter in the bed. "Bullshit, Kakashi. There's no war yet, and that wasn't our fucking mission. Anyways, if you have to commit suicide for it, so do I. And it hurts too much to try again."

Dismay sparked in Kakashi's eye as he remembered that Genma had tried suicide before. The same way his father had done. "I was captain," he insisted. "My responsibility."

"Like hell," Genma shot back. "It's just as much my responsibility as it is yours, and Raidou's, and Hayate's, and Tenzou's. You want us all to die? And leave that little blond brat alone?" _Like you,_ was left unsaid, but Kakashi heard it. The tension bled out of him.

"Sorry," Kakashi murmured, suddenly sounding much younger. "I'm being stupid again, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Genma told him bluntly. "You are. Who fucking suggested this idiocy?" Anger swelled in his whole body, fury at the person who could say something like that, especially to Kakashi. Twist duty to the village into something so wrong.

"Uchiha Fugaku." Kakashi carefully kept the hatred from seeping into his voice.

"Figures." Genma curled his lip in disgust. "You ought to know better than to listen to a word that comes out of that man's mouth."

Kakashi finally sat down on the padded chair by Genma's bed. "I know. Just...he was kind of right..."

"No." Genma rolled his eyes. "The last time that Uchiha was right about anything was when he said it would be good for the village if he cut off his own head."

"That's not what he said," Kakashi, always a stickler for truth, finally corrected his subordinate after a long, blinking pause. "He said it would be more beneficial than letting you into ANBU."

Genma just grinned, teeth a vicious wall behind his senbon.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kakashi asked carefully. Genma wasn't seeing things, he didn't think, because he wasn't trying to kill people, but that expression was certainly not comforting. Kakashi stealthily withdrew his orange book, propping it up on his knees as a barrier against Genma's sudden burst of oddness.

"Still want to kill yourself?" Genma asked him.

"No," the silver-haired ninja responded, mostly to placate the maniacal grin.

"Good. It's a shitty way to die."

"You never died," Kakashi pointed out. "There are shittier ways."

"Didn't say there weren't," Genma answered placidly. The spark of whatever maniacal emotion that had been faded.

"All things considered, I'd rather stick a knife in my belly than be glomped to death by Gai."

"That is seriously disturbing, Kakashi, and let's please get off the subject. We're both pretty fucking messed up, but bringing Gai into it is a whole new level."

"Thought you knew you were screwy already," came a third voice. Raidou leaned casually against the doorway, Naruto held back with a hand on his shoulder. The little boy finally squirmed away and ran towards the two ninja. First, he glomped Kakashi. The shinobi stiffened, but put his arms stiffly around Naruto in an approximation of a hug. Then Naruto turned his attentions to Genma, who had prepared himself for the assault and barely flinched as the weight slammed down across his chest and arms wound around his neck.

"I see you found the kid," Genma commented to his scarred friend. He patted Naruto's bright hair, then pushed the boy off of him. Much as he appreciated the hug, that much physical contact was still unsettling.

Raidou's face clouded. He hadn't had a chance to speak with Genma since he'd woken up in the hospital. But today Naruto had convinced Raidou to let Kiba and Shikamaru cover for him against Momotami so he could come see the rest of his friends. "The Hokage isn't letting him stay with us anymore," Raidou informed Genma.

"What?" Genma exclaimed, shocked. "He can't do that!"

"Yes, he can," Raidou corrected his friend wearily.

"It might be for the best," Kakashi said quietly. "ANBU breaks people."

"ANBU saved you, Kakashi," Genma shot back fiercely. "You don't think I remember how you were before?"

"Don't act so damn special, Genma," he snapped. "Anyway, not everyone is screwed up enough that ANBU is a nurturing environment for them."

They had almost forgotten about Naruto sitting on the floor with his back against Genma's bed. "I like ANBU," he piped up.

Kakashi glared at the air and Genma smirked. "Told you so."

"Oh, Kakashi, before I forget, Miyagi is waiting outside to make sure you don't kill yourself. What's that about?"

"Dealt with," Genma said carelessly, slipping easily away from his previous intensity. "Praise to the Great Genma."

Raidou shot him a look. "Who spiked his medicines?" he muttered to Kakashi.

The young captain jerked an arm in a dismissive gesture. "Apparently talking about insanity exacerbates the condition."

Now Raidou was looking at Kakashi suspiciously as well. "I'm going to need explanations later. But for now, I assume you know about the MP, too?"

Kakashi made a face, visible only as a twitch of fabric and a rolling eye. "He's been following me since yesterday. Completely obviously, of course."

Naruto bounced off the floor. "Boring! I want ramen."

"I thought you wanted to see Hayate as well?" Raidou reminded him, before he cast another hard look at his teammates. "I'll talk to you two later."

* * *

Hayate was glad to see them when Raidou and Naruto arrived. Tenzou was asleep, drooling on his pillow. Hayate was looking significantly better than when Raidou had last seen him, unconscious, pale white and bleeding. Naruto, however, didn't think so. "You look dead," he said brightly, hopping up next to Hayate on his bed. The teenager grinned, before coughing into his fist.

"I thought death didn't hurt," he complained, ruffling Naruto's hair.

"Hey, hey," Naruto whined, ducking out of the way. "Play a game with me, Hayate-san," he demanded.

"What game?" he asked in confusion.

Naruto shrugged, settling back into the squishy mattress. "Any game!"

Hayate thought for a moment. "Stick out your hands, palm down. This is a reflex game, okay?" He slid his open palms under Naruto's small hands. "I'm going to try to slap the top of your hands, and you have to try and pull away before I can." Hayate hadn't played this game since he was really little, partially because once he became a ninja there hadn't been time for games like this, partially because once he became a ninja his reflexes had been honed to the level that this game was rather pointless. No (good) ninja could lose this game from the palm-down position, as long as chakra enhancements weren't allowed.

Raidou was watching them play, with much giggling and screeching from Naruto as his hands got repeatedly slapped, until Hayate finally allowed himself to lose so that Naruto could take his turn slapping. Then from the door, a quiet voice caught his attention. "Namiashi-san." It was a masked ANBU that Raidou didn't recognize.

"Yes?" he walked over to ask.

"Hokage requests your presence. Immediately."

Raidou turned back into the hospital room. "Keep an eye on Naruto for me, eh, Hayate?" The younger nin nodded, a question in his eyes. Raidou shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Naruto, make sure you're home before Momotami-san notices."

"Okay, Raidou-nii. Got you Hayate!" The slap of flesh on flesh resounded in the room, and Raidou ducked out the door.

* * *

In the Hokage's office, the ANBU escort faded against to the wall, seeming to disappear into the background. The Hokage sat behind his desk, his face grim. Uchiha Fugaku sat in a chair just in front of the desk, but he had angled the chair so he could observe the door, and Raidou, as well.

"Namiashi-san," the Hokage began.

"Hokage-sama," Raidou interrupted. "About Naruto, why can't he return to ANBU? He was so much happier there. Civilians just aren't the same as shinobi."

The Hokage cut him off with a look from under the shadow of his conical hat. "Namiashi-san," he repeated. "It has been brought to my attention that you broke into sealed records yesterday, and forged the chakra locks on classified documents." Raidou schooled his face into an impassive mask, and said nothing. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Fulfilling my duty to protect Uzumaki-kun, Hokage-sama," he said formally, back ramrod straight and eyes boring a hole in the wall across from him.

"That mission ended a week ago, Namiashi," the Uchiha interjected. "What you did is highly illegal."

"What is the Military Police doing involved?" Raidou asked, careful to maintain the same perfectly respectful tone. "ANBU does not fall under your jurisdiction."

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes glinted dangerously. "ANBU falls under the Hokage's jurisdiction. And seeing as you, Namiashi, have been involved in breaking into classified files and starting a political fiasco with Grass country, not to mention your..._history_...I suggest we obtain a full confession," Fugaku said smoothly.

Raidou stiffened. The Hokage looked about to protest, then his wrinkled eyes narrowed. Fugaku wouldn't demand something like that unless he had something to gain, and knew he could get it. With the way Sarutobi had blocked any attacks on Kakashi, he couldn't afford another conflict with the council. He had Hiashi's support, if only because the Hyuuga head would oppose the Uchiha on anything after that veiled dig about his brother. But Fugaku had enough support, enough influence, and enough favors he could call in that Sarutobi had no choice now. Not if he wanted to be able to unite the council against Grass. His eyes searched out Raidou's, and there was apology floating there. "That would be acceptable," he said heavily.

Only training and years of suppressing reactions kept Raidou's face impassive. But his gaze was accusing as he locked eyes with the Hokage. Fugaku bowed, a half-smile twitching his lips as he paid his respects to the Hokage. "I will instruct Morino, then." He pulled a folded document out from his vest, and offered it to the Hokage. "If you would validate the order?"

Sarutobi opened the paper, and read it through. "Surely this is a little harsh?" he tried. "Full procedures?"

Fugaku shook his head, pursing his lips in disapproval at altering protocol. "It is standard."

"For missing-nin and enemies."

"It is best to be thorough," Fugaku insisted. Raidou refused to shudder. He'd lived through worse before, he told himself. But he was hard pressed to think of an example. The Hokage pressed his seal to the paper, and handed it back. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi's regal posture slumped as two ANBU marched Raidou out of his office, followed by Fugaku's dark bearing. He'd just sent one of his best shinobi off to be tortured by his own people. All because some asshole of an Uchiha had a vendetta, and even the Hokage wasn't immune to politics. He looked out the window at his village spread out below the tower. He did it for them, Sarutobi reminded himself. To save the village, the Fourth had sacrificed his life. _His own life_, something whispered in his head. _Not a young man with a promising future and a younger brother who needs him_. The Sandaime stamped down on the little voice. Some things could not be avoided. And he would take the consequences as a shinobi.


	13. The Right Thing

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto._

A/N: See? I delivered on the faster chapter; it's been in the works for a while, now. And it's nice and long...or as long as they ever get here. Enjoy.

* * *

"Let go; I can walk on my own," Raidou snapped, trying to twist his arms from the restraining grips on either side. The two ANBU—just past their rookie year; he knew them vaguely, but had never run a mission with either—tightened their holds.

"Can't do that, sorry," the one on the left apologized. Asuma, he thought the name was. They walked in silence out of the Hokage tower, then took to the roofs under a basic concealing genjutsu, heading back to ANBU.

The basement had several entrances, a few through the headquarters building, and two doors from separate, nondescript buildings off to the sides. It was to one of these that the guards led Raidou. After showing the sheaf of papers to the guard, the man opened a heavy metal door, letting them down into a brightly lit staircase that led to the bare white halls of the Torture and Interrogations department.

Morino Ibiki met them in the main hallway. A tall man, he had strong features and thin eyes. "Raidou," he said with surprise. His eyes flicked over the two guards, then returned to Raidou's face. "I assume this isn't a consultation, then."

Asuma shook his masked head. "Orders from the Hokage, on recommendation of the Chief of Police," he said quietly, handing the papers to Ibiki.

The young man skimmed through the orders, shuffling the papers from hand to hand. "I better give these to the Captain. Take him to holding cell 6. Tell the Hokage that we'll start tomorrow; it's not listed as urgent."

* * *

Ibiki's hands clenched into fists on his captain's desk as he leaned in towards his superior. "What do they want to know from him?" he snarled. "They've got his whole file, his whole life's history. Is he a traitor? Selling information to Suna?"

"No," the Head said, tilting his chair away from Ibiki's spittle-throwing tirade. "It's orders from the council; you read it. Just do your job, Morino."

"My _job_ is to interrogate prisoners, not to torture my comrades."

"Your job is to do what you're told," the Head barked. "You're Torture and Interrogation, Morino. Stop disgracing yourself." Then he smirked. "It'll be a good learning experience for you, Ibiki."

* * *

"Where's Raidou-nii?" Naruto stood, looking slightly dejected, at the foot of Genma's bed. A little annoyed, too, because Raidou had said they would train after school today, and he hadn't shown up.

Genma tipped his head to watch him from around the single leg hoisted up in the air. "Haven't seen him since yesterday, kid. Did you check with Hayate or Kakashi?"

"Don't know where they are."

"Hayate's still in the hospital. But he might not be awake right now; something to do with his head after hitting that tree. Tenzou went home, and I have no idea where Kakashi is. Try Hayate first," he suggested. "Then come back here and tell me what you find out." Naruto nodded, and left the room, turning down the hall to find Hayate.

Genma waited, growing anxious. The vague warmth that had sat in his chest since yesterday faded into cold tension. Raidou was always responsible, always let people know where he was going and what his plans were. If he would miss a meeting, he told them. When Naruto returned with the news that Hayate was asleep, but Tenzou had been sitting with him and said he didn't know either, Genma sat up. A few twitches of the ropes, and the sling fell loosely to the bed. He lowered his plaster-sheathed leg carefully, then swung both over the edge of the bed. "Genma-san?" Naruto asked. "What are you doing?"

He gestured to the door. "Go get Tenzou, and tell him to steal me some crutches." Naruto grinned at the mischief, and darted out.

Tenzou was much more disapproving when he arrived; despite being years younger than his sempai, he frowned sternly down on Genma. The older ninja blinked innocently up at him. "Crutches?" he asked sweetly.

Tenzou reluctantly tossed them onto the bed next to him. Genma readjusted his senbon, then slipped the crossbars under his armpits, standing carefully. When he tried to put weight on the injured ankle, a soft hiss escaped from between his lips. With a half-hearted grin, he let the crutches do the work.

"Genma," Tenzou warned. "You shouldn't be walking yet. The medics said a week of bed rest."

"Screw the medics," Genma said pleasantly. "Naruto, get the door."

The boy rushed over and pulled the door open. He waited in the hall as Genma maneuvered his way out, and began crutching down the hall. The stairs posed a slight problem, but Genma took them with aplomb and a judicious use of chakra. He pointedly ignored Tenzou's sidebar about the drawbacks to the squad if he fell and broke his neck.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at Tenzou, expressing his complete agreement with Genma on the question of safety versus finding Raidou. Tenzou rolled his eyes and kept a careful eye on Genma so that when they did find Raidou, he would still be in one still breathing, reasonably healthy piece. Raidou would have all their necks if he weren't.

He wasn't in the hospital; Tenzou had insisted they check with the desk before leaving. After leaving the protesting nurses behind, Genma suggested they try Naruto's training field. It turned up empty. Genma headed to headquarters next. At the front desk, he asked if Raidou was in. The ninja shrugged, riffling through papers. "He's not signed out, but that doesn't mean much around here." His tone showed his contempt for the effectiveness of ANBU bureaucracy. Genma crutched on, leaving Tenzou to hurriedly thank the man before catching up.

They pounded on Raidou's door, and Genma scanned for his chakra. He chewed his senbon end nervously as they left headquarters with nothing. Halfway out the door, he turned back. "I need to see the mission schedule," he demanded. "Is Namiashi listed?"

"I can't tell you that," the man sighed. "You know that."

Genma leaned towards him, planting his hands on the desk. Tenzou caught the crutches as they began to fall. "Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan needs to know, boy. Namiashi's on his squad, and hasn't shown up to practice. Do I need to go bring the Copy-Nin here to drag it out of you?"

"He's not on a mission, okay?" The ANBU snapped angrily, slapping the scroll shut. "Now go away and stop bothering me!"

Genma gave him a fake smile. "Thanks." He grabbed his crutches from Tenzou and limped out of the building. It was nice to have a legend on his team sometimes.

"So now what?" Tenzou demanded. "You've browbeaten controlled information out of a colleague, and no luck. What will you do next?" He was exasperated with Genma, but also actually rather curious.

Genma bit the needle hard, arresting the slow circular movement of absent chewing. "I didn't lie at all, Bunny-face, so don't get all riled up. And now," he grinned, "we blackmail."

Tenzou threw his hands up in despair. "For heaven's sake, Genma."

"Genma-san, what's blackmail?" Naruto asked.

* * *

The Hokage stood at the head of the council table, hands linked behind his back, weathered countenance grave. "A response to my message to the Kazekage has just arrived." The faces of the most powerful men in the village watched him with various expressions of anticipation, reservation, or faint fear. Hyuuga Hiashi's face was set in his typical stoical blankness. The Hokage glanced briefly at Uchiha Fugaku, resenting Fugaku's obviously only vague concern about the proceedings.

"To summarize: Suna cannot give Konoha military support, but also assures us that they will not aid Kusa either, if they press a conflict. He offers supplies, but at an inflated price." Most of the faces around him slipped even farther towards gloom. "On the positive side," Sarutobi added, "An ANBU squad on the Grass border has intercepted a messenger from their village. When they arrive, we will probably learn who Grass is blaming for the attack, and whether the missing-nin they have been gathering are intended for us." His smile was strained, but he offered it anyway. "This might all be a simple misunderstanding." But he didn't believe it himself.

Fugaku joined in the appropriate murmurs of hope washing across the table, but his eyes showed none of the eagerness of the others'. It would be best if there were no war, of course. Fugaku couldn't wish his village into something like that. But if it were resolved too quickly, he would lose his chance to punish the Hatake who had stolen a sharingan and murdered an Uchiha. And that would not be acceptable.

As the Hokage asked for a report on the village's current stock of food in case supply routes were blocked, Fugaku let his mind consider how his own plans had been set in motion. The slur to Uchiha honor would finally be resolved when Hatake folded. It was too bad he hadn't given in more easily, but there were always innocents in the crossfire. Even the village's beloved Fourth Hokage had known that.

* * *

The two guards stopped the little party as they pushed into the entrance hall of the Intelligence branch. "Authorized personnel only." It looked like a standard office waiting room; padded chairs lined the walls, broken up by a few windows looking out on the street. A grayish rug with the faded remnants of a navy blue crosshatch pattern covered the floor; a few old magazines lay on a battered coffee table.

Genma raked his eyes across the two men blocking his way. "Shiranui Genma. I'm authorized," he snapped. "Bunny-face, go sit over there and wait like a good boy." He gestured vaguely at a couple of chairs against the wall.

"Can I come?" Naruto asked, looking hopefully up at Genma.

He shook his head. "Only really boring people are in there," he smiled down at Naruto. "You wouldn't like it."

Naruto made a face. "I don't like boring. I'm staying with Bunny!"

"My name's Tenzou," Tenzou reminded them all in exasperation. "Call me Tenzou." He was getting kind of sick of the mask jokes.

Genma raised a single eyebrow at the two ninja still blocking his way. "Who are you here to see?" one asked tiredly.

"Niigata Daichi."

They pulled aside. "He's down the hall three doors from—"

"I know where his office is." He waved to Naruto and Tenzou, and limped into the hall.

Niigata was bent over his desk in a tiny office, stacks of chakra-sealed file folders surrounding him and an intense expression adorning his face. He looked up as his visitor paused in his doorway. "Genma."

"Hey, Daichi."

Niigata blinked, and slid his papers into a folder. A flare of chakra shut it firmly, and he pushed it aside. "Either you hit your head or you want something from me." He appraised Genma suspiciously.

"Hayate's the one with a concussion," Genma said pleasantly. "I need help."

"Definitely," Niigata said, deadpan.

Genma narrowed his eyes. "Stop. I need to find out where Raidou is."

"Raidou? Why? Aren't you two inseparable?"

"He didn't show up to an appointment. He's not at HQ, he's not in the hospital, or anywhere else I can think of. The last anyone saw him, he was responding to an urgent summons by the Hokage."

"He's probably on a mission, then. Genma, I'm really busy right now what with this mess your squad cooked up. Raidou's probably fine."

"And if he's not?"

They locked gazes across the room. A moment of silence, then the Intel agent sighed. "Where are you going to be for the rest of the day?"

Genma grinned in relief. "Training field six for the next couple hours, then probably back at the hospital. Thank you."

"You owe me," the older man told the hunter. "Big time, Genma."

"Whatever you want, Niigata." Adjusting his crutches, he limped away.

Daichi rubbed his forehead, then stood up. After checking his files to make sure they were safely closed, he locked his office door and left in the opposite direction as Genma.

* * *

Tenzou laughed when Genma related the events. "Blackmail? You just asked him nicely."

"I was teasing you, kid. And this worked just as well. Anyway, it's amazingly hard to get blackmail material on Intel agents. Though if you want to help..."

Tenzou ignored his suggestion. "How do you know him?" he asked instead. "I didn't think they'd let you in at all."

"Don't underestimate your sempai," Genma said majestically. The effect was broken when he nearly tripped over the crutches as he posed. "Damn. Niigata's one of the handlers that works with our squad. You'll meet him soon enough. And he's also one of the coordinators for the western border districts."

Tenzou nodded, absentmindedly snatching Naruto out of the way of a passing cart. "So he'll come find you if he learns anything?"

"When, dear Tenzou. Niigata is good at what he does," Genma said smugly. "He's an obnoxious ass, but he's good. He'll find Raidou."

* * *

They'd left him alone all night, and no one had come in the morning. He told time by the familiar rhythms of the changing shifts outside the door, and the growing ache in his arms. Raidou was thoroughly annoyed by the time the door swung open on its silent hinges, because annoyed was better than afraid. He worked up anger at the chakra suppressor on his wrist and the manacles binding his hands to the wall. He resented the cell and the walls and the humming fluorescent light, muttered curses at Uchiha Fugaku and the whole damn council. And when Ibiki stepped in, hands tucked in the pockets of his long trench coat, he channeled it all towards the tokujou.

"Well, this wasn't exactly what I imagined that get-together we had planned looking like."

"Shut up, Namiashi." The words were condescending and cold. Raidou growled, but shut up. Ibiki didn't bother asking if he'd cooperate easily; the answer was obvious. Raidou was a ninja. "You know, you pose a bit of a problem to me." His narrow gaze met Raidou's with no trace of emotion. "You're still a Konoha shinobi, so some limits have to be observed. Yet I was given orders for the full workdown. That in itself is an issue. But I know most of your buttons, Namiashi."

"You also erased half of them," Raidou inserted with a friendly grin up at the man towering over him.

Ibiki took a pace forward and bent down to lay a calloused hand on Raidou's left cheek. "I can undo my own handiwork, Namiashi," the younger man said. "Much as I hate destroying such good efforts. See, that's not the problem. The problem is I know you too well. Even if I did break you," and his fingers pressed a little harder into ridged scars, "I know it wouldn't do any good."

"So don't bother," Raidou suggested loudly. He ignored the hand on his face; it was just skin, and scars meant nothing.

"Very few physical tactics will work on you." Ibiki stepped back in the small cell, and leaned against the whitewashed wall. "And bringing you to the breaking point with those would probably leave you completely useless even if you were innocent. Most of our best genjutsu you taught us or helped test. So genjutsu is worthless; you'd just break out of them all." Nineteen and still growing into his height, but already too fierce to be handsome, Ibiki let a small, anticipatory smirk bloom across his pale face. "There aren't very many other ways." Coming from Ibiki, it was clear the words were a threat, not a setback.

"Come on, Ibiki," Raidou tried to reason. "You know this isn't serious. Just another of the council's stupid power plays."

Ibiki shrugged. "I know." The smirk didn't leave his lips. "But this is my job, Namiashi." He refused to let even the briefest whisper of regret color his tones.

Raidou's face hardened. "I understand," he said quietly, acknowledging his counterpart. "But I have to do mine as well." He let his eyes drift to the left of Ibiki's head, regulated his breathing.

"That's not necessary right now," Ibiki told him quietly. "There are still a few more things that need to be done before we can get started."

Raidou didn't respond. It made no difference that he'd learned most of these tricks in this very place with a younger Ibiki sitting nearby, learning the same. Now, the countless hours he'd spent coaching the up and coming interrogators on genjutsu techniques and nuances were meaningless. In this place, now, he was a name and a number and a rank and a village and nothing else mattered or existed. That was how it went.

* * *

They hadn't even finished training when Niigata arrived. His face was drawn, and he was running. "Genma."

The hunter disentangled his crutches from Naruto's awkward wire trap. "Fix the knots, kid. They were too loose."

As Tenzou helped Naruto coil the knotted wires on the ground, Niigata drew Genma aside. "Bad news."

"What?"

"Military Police sent him down to T and I."

Genma blinked. "ANBU's got immunity. Only the Hokage could..."

"He signed off."

"Why?" The word was strangled, choked out on a ragged breath.

Niigata shrugged. "Don't know. Genma, don't get involved." He reached out and grabbed Genma's arm. "It's not about Raidou, and it's gone beyond what you can fix."

"Does Kakashi know?"

"I doubt it. I had to get this straight from Ibiki."

"Fuck," Genma whispered. He wrenched away from Niigata. "Tenzou!" The teenager looked up, then hurriedly stood at the dark expression on his sempai's face. "Naruto, go home."

The boy jogged over, and wrapped his arms around Genma's leg. "No!" He could tell something was wrong, and it had to do with Raidou.

Genma stared fiercely down at Naruto. "This isn't a choice, kid. Go home." He shook Naruto's hands off.

"Genma, you shouldn't leave him alone," Niigata said, a flicker of something approaching guilt in his face.

"I have to get Raidou," he snarled back. Digging in his kunai pouch, he pulled out a short knife. "Naruto. Take this, and stay out of trouble." The blond boy caught the kunai awkwardly, barely able to avoid getting cut by the razor sharp edges. Not a practice kunai, this one, but a killer's weapon.

Dropping his crutches to the ground, Genma freed his hands for three quick seals. _I'm coming, Raidou._

* * *

Ibiki left. He walked tall and ice-faced from the room, locked the door behind him and reset the chakra wards. He paced calmly to his office, a few doors down from his captain's but much smaller, and closed the door calmly. Calmly, he observed the room. Then he punched a wall. The impact shivered up his arm and his fist stung. The force might have shattered his knuckles if the wall had been bare stone, but Ibiki had found that even ninja who knew the effectiveness of soundproofing jutsu could be intimidated by padded walls and the very blatant visual signal they gave. It was also lucky that he was located several levels below ground, and thus had no windows he could break when the stapler bounced off the far wall. Raidou was his _friend._

Ibiki had delayed as long as he could. The Hokage wouldn't see him. Uchiha wouldn't see him. He'd protested to his Captain, and the older man hadn't given a shit. _A learning experience..._A heavy glass paperweight shattered as Ibiki surrendered to silent rage.

When he'd worked the uncontrollable edge off of his anger, Ibiki swept up a sheaf of papers from his newly disarrayed desk and pulled the cold, smirking mask of his work-face over his features. He had other cases to attend to.

* * *

Genma slammed into view outside the ANBU headquarters, and released the huge swell of chakra it had taken to get him there in less than a heartbeat. Through two sets of doors, then he was running down the stairs, barely touching a quarter of the steps. The door at the bottom was locked and chakra-keyed. Before he reached it, he had palmed two half-size senbon and begun the chakra manipulation that would read the seals infusing the locks. Working infiltration had taught him quite a few very useful skills.

Two minutes after kneeling down before the barrier, he pressed his left hand to the door, flared his chakra, then pulled the makeshift lockpicks out of the keyhole. The door swung open.

The six guards in the foyer looked at him with decidedly unimpressed expressions. Genma glared back, building the anger surging in his chest into a wave of killing intent that swept his own fear to the back of his mind and beat against the men blocking his way to Raidou.

"You're not allowed in here," one of them said. Hands already held weapons.

The word came out low and rough. "Move." The walls of the tiny room pressed in around him, no windows to relieve the pressure of being deep underground. Escape was behind him, an open door at his back. Genma stood his ground. "Move!"

A kunai glinted in the thick, artificial light. "Leave, Shiranui." They knew him; the Chief of Police had warned them to expect him.

Genma stalked forward, every muscle tensed. He stopped a foot from the extended tip of the kunai. "Leave, or we have orders to consider this a sign of mental disturbance." Genma's jaw clenched. They thought it was a favor; a few days for a Psych evaluation, then he'd get sent home. Better than a court martial or his own appointment with T and I.

But Genma thought differently. If it was the Military Police who had taken Raidou, they probably still had his early records. ANBU files were sealed, but his genin and chuunin history, and a little thought, was all they'd need to know that confinement in those little white cells with locks and no windows and _no way out_ was the worst possible threat. Blood slid across his tongue in a thin flow as the end of his senbon cut into his cheek. He had to run, get out, get _away_. He wouldn't be able to take the white rooms again. _Katsu-chan._

"Move!" Genma _had_ to get down to where Raidou was, rules and insubordination and Psych be damned.

Six against one was hopeless. It made it worse on both sides that no one really wanted to hurt each other. They were comrades, after all. He only managed to flatten two before he slumped to the ground.

* * *

Momtami opened the door with false bravado on her face. "Yes?"

The dark, flat-eyed ninja on her doorstep looked down on her from his superior height. "Military Police." His vest sported the stylized star and Uchiha crest of that organization. "Is Uzumaki Naruto here?"

She nodded reluctantly, but blocked the entrance with her body. "He is." A ninja she didn't know had dropped him off a few minutes ago. The young man had had a polite smile and had explained that he was helping Naruto with schoolwork. A sweet young man, Kimiko thought. Now Naruto was up in his room. 'Resting' he'd said, before clattering up the stairs.

"He needs to come with me, now," the young man said.

"I can't just send him off with a stranger!" Kimiko protested, wary of this ninja who was not polite or sweet, and mindful of her duty to the Hokage. She shuddered at the cold, disdainful look he treated her with.

He slipped his hand into the pouch at his waist, and she drew back, nervously. But he only withdrew a folded, official looking paper and offered it to her. Kimiko took it, and opened it carefully. Her eyes snapped up to meet the Uchiha's amused smirk. After a moment of deliberation, she pocketed the slip of paper tucked inside the notice. She was a widow, with an uncertain income and three growing children to clothe and feed. And she couldn't disobey the police, right? Anyways, they were the police; she could trust them. She twisted her head back into the house. "Naruto!"

* * *

"Get up, Namiashi." Ibiki pulled him to his feet, the cuffs detached from the wall but still trapping his arms painfully behind his back. "Come on." Raidou clenched his teeth and stumbled up.

Down the familiar halls Ibiki escorted him, and into one of the interrogation rooms. But, and Raidou looked around in confusion, not the right side. The interrogation rooms were furnished with large, one-way mirrors so the proceedings could be observed from outside. The victim went on the reflective side. Ibiki was shoving Raidou down into a padded chair facing the mirror, and through the shadowy layer he could see a bare cell with a single metal chair bolted to the floor in the center. A countertop stocked with paper and pens and a few recording devices stood in front of him. Loops of wire yanked tight around Raidou's legs and arms, attaching him solidly to his chair. So whatever was going on, he wasn't forgiven yet.

Ibiki flicked a few switches, darkening this side of the glass, turning on the bright lights on the far side. Then he opened the door again, and signaled down the hallway. "And we begin, Namiashi."

He stared with morbid curiosity through the glass. "I still don't know what you want out of me, Ibiki. What you want me to say."

The teenager linked his hands behind his back and turned his bulk to the glass. "As far as I can tell, Namiashi, the Uchiha wants either evidence that you are a traitor, or that Hatake is. Have you decided to cooperate with him?" The details of speech made all the difference. _With him_, not _with me._ This wasn't Ibiki's desire, only his duty.

"When hell freezes over, Ibiki," Raidou said pleasantly. The door across the mirror swung open.

Ibiki bent down and whispered in his ear. "Feeling cold yet?"

Raidou's heart froze.


	14. Betrayal

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto_.  
_

* * *

"Can't he go any faster?" Anko griped. "He's a ninja. Why's he so damn _slow?_" She pushed off the next branch, arms spread wide like some black-feathered bird as she hurtled through the air.

Across from her, Gai clicked his tongue. "Be kind, Anko-chan. He's not a jounin, he's a messenger." His gait seemed excessively vigorous, until one noticed that each motion was carefully regulated to maximize the efficiency of his motion. Anko still thought he looked silly most of the time, though right now her eyes were focused on the trees around them for any possibility of a threat.

"I'm not a jounin either," she snapped. Her knees bent as she hit the tree bark and launched off again. "A genin could go faster than this."

"Can't you two shut up?" one of their other teammates demanded from a few paces behind. They encircled the Kusa messenger in a protective, as well as restrictive circle, escorting him as fast as the he could run towards Konoha. Out in front, Aoba rolled his eyes, safely concealed behind dark glasses and feline mask, as well as the fact that none of his squad were Hyuuga and thus couldn't see through his back. They still had a few more hours of travel before they reached Konoha, and he did not want his team falling apart again. So many different personalities sometimes complimented each other. In this squad, they tended to grate. This wasn't perhaps the best side to show to the emissary from a potentially hostile nation.

Luckily, Anko decided not to take offense. She snorted, and pushed off unnecessarily hard on the next step, but she had stopped talking. In the center of their circle, the Kusa nin frowned angrily, but went a little faster.

They plowed through the gate without checking their steps. Straight to the administrative tower, where they left the messenger bowing himself into the presence of the Hokage. Aoba shut the door behind them with a quiet click, and glanced over the four ninja who made up his squad. "Well, we did our part." Four sets of eyes regarded him without blinking through four fake, porcelain faces. "What?"

"Do we get to hear the message?"

"No. That's for the Hokage only."

"Do we get dango?"

"No!"

* * *

Knock. Knock. Kakashi turned over with a groan. He stuffed his face into Pakkun's ribs. "Mmmahnn." The dog squirmed uncomfortably and swore. The knocking continued. "Hrrahgn." With an effort, he rolled off the bed. Hitting the floor with a thud, he dragged himself to his feet. Pakkun watched him with a single, unimpressed eye as he swayed across the room and reflexively hooked his mask up over his nose. Squeaky hinges wailed. "Go away."

Scruffy rookie head peered pitifully at him from the opened door. "Kakashi-taichou?"

"Is it a mission?"

"No—" Kakashi shut the door in his face. The knocking started again. Kakashi flicked up a sound barrier and went back to bed. Tenzou's chakra stayed outside the door, and Pakkun nudged him with a wet nose. The jounin sighed and rubbed his face in the pillow. Pakkun bit him.

Throwing the door open again, Kakashi mustered his best half-asleep glare. "Can't I sleep for just a single hour?" he snapped. Tenzou stared blankly at him. Kakashi sighed in frustration and dropped the silencing jutsu. "What do you want?"

"Can I talk to you, captain?"

"You're talking." Tenzou blinked wordlessly for a moment. "About what?" Kakashi moaned. "It's the middle of the night!"

"Actually, it's still evening," Tenzou corrected absently. "And about Genma, and Raidou; I'm worried. I need you to help."

A gravelly voice issued from Kakashi's bed. "Let the brat in, Kakashi. Stop standing in the hall."

Tenzou's eyes widened even further. "Ah. Um. If you're busy—"

"That's Pakkun," Kakashi stated flatly. "Come in, rookie. What's wrong with Genma and Raidou _now_?"

Tenzou spilled the whole story standing nervously behind Kakashi's single battered chair, his hands fisted on the backrest. Kakashi hadn't been wearing his forehead protector as he tried to sleep, and Tenzou's gaze kept sliding from the grey eye to the paler, scarred side of his face as his captain leaned against the wall. He had been sleeping in rumpled jounin blues that bagged around his ankles and wrists without the wraps that would usually have tied them. He would have looked almost endearing in his floppy clothes and with his hair falling over his face, if not for his single eye, narrowed and intent. It regarded Tenzou like a grey river pebble, hard and unblinking. Pakkun had crawled to the foot of the bed in the other room to listen through the door. Kakashi's first question was, "Where's Hayate?"

"He was still in the hospital, sleeping, this afternoon, when Naruto came."

"So they don't have him. Genma went downstairs?" He didn't mean to the cafeteria.

"Yes."

Kakashi swept his kunai holster and katana, both ready for use. "Uchiha," he hissed. "That goddamn bastard."

* * *

Fugaku sat at his desk in his office at his headquarters of his Military Police. That was how life was supposed to work: his life, his decisions, his power. His clan. Hatake...Hatake turned that all upside down. With the stolen sharingan, he smashed the Uchiha's monopoly on the power of the copy wheel, and every time he used it, every time people talked about his exploits on the street, he trampled the Uchiha into the dirt. It was always _Hatake the Copy Nin, Master of a Thousand Jutsus Hatake, Hatake the legend, _when once it had only been the Uchiha. Fugaku's lips tightened.

And now, if the issue with Grass turned into war, his people would be taken away to fight for somebody else. It had happened a few years ago, in the last war. The Hokage had needed all the ninja the village could provide, and the Military Police had been left with only a skeleton staff. Assuming the skeleton was missing every third bone. Fugaku had been deprived of his own people. This new war, this new affront to the Uchiha, was also Hatake's fault.

Fugaku knew his reasoning was mostly based on petty jealousy and bruised pride. He knew that most people would sympathize with him just about as much as he sympathized with Hatake's plight. But that did not matter. The Uchiha Head did not need the approval of others. He did not need their support, or their agreement. He simply needed power.

When Namiashi broke, as everyone who went before Ibiki did, he'd have Hatake. Whether Namiashi implicated himself or his Captain didn't matter; Kakashi would feel obligated to take the blame either way. It would be child's play after that.

* * *

Uchiha Inabi had been working for the police since he'd made chuunin six years ago. When this order had come down through the offices with the clan head's own seal on it, Inabi had pulled rank on his cohorts to get the job. So now he was hurrying a blond child down the streets of town, a firm hand grasping the boy's arm, and beginning to regret his decision.

"So you're Sasuke's uncle or something? I think he's really annoying. He doesn't talk to anyone or play games or anything. And he's always 'I'm an Uchiha, hnnnn'." Naruto slurred the nonsense syllable into a drawn out taunt. Inabi clenched his teeth. Couldn't the brat just shut up? "Where are we going? Why'd Momotami say I had to listen to you? You're not saying anything. Where are we going?"

It was a relief when he reached the designated building and a rather gorgeous woman in a red shirt and flak vest took the brat. Job fulfilled, he offered her dinner, accepted the rejection, and went back to the police station to make sure his name got recorded correctly in case of future promotions.

The woman took Naruto's arm in the same way the Uchiha had been holding it. She walked him down a flight of stairs and through several sets of heavy doors with huge locks that Naruto looked at with longing. Anything that big and shiny had to make whatever behind it important. Maybe he could get one to put one on his ramen stash to keep it safe.

Finally, she pointed to a door. "In here, Uzumaki."

"You know me?" he said in surprise. He was already getting famous! Soon he'd be a super-great-ninja who _everybody_ knew and respected!

The room the lady put him in was big and empty, except for one chair and a hugely gigantic _awesome_ mirror. "Wait here like a good boy," she told him, and shut the door behind herself. Naruto didn't care, because he'd never seen a mirror that big. He stuck out his tongue at the mirror, and pulled the skin below his eyes down and wiggled his tongue. Then he stuck his jaw sideways and pulled his hair the other way with one hand. A giggle welled up and he laughed out loud.

* * *

A few years ago, before Raidou had entered ANBU, he led a team of mixed chuunin and tokujou on a guard mission for a group of businessmen hosting an international trade conference. He remembered it because one of the attendees had been a plant, sent to abduct or assassinate the head of the association. They hadn't known who was the spy, but two of Raidou's chuunin had caught a subordinate of the man carelessly transporting poison capsules. As the highest ranking and most experienced of the Konoha shinobi, the interrogation had fallen to him.

The first rule was always to find a weakness. On that man, not trained against shinobi techniques or prepared for capture, it had turned out simply to be pain. Raidou had spent under an hour with his hand on the back of the man's spine, and he'd told them everything just to make it end.

Once he'd entered ANBU, he'd begun coaching other interrogators in genjutsu techniques, and had himself worked through dozens of hours of resistance training. But no one could train for _this_ and still remain human, and Ibiki knew it.

Staring through the glass separating the two rooms, Raidou felt miles away, years away. It didn't quite feel real; everything was dark and slightly grainy behind the mirror. It dulled Naruto's shockingly yellow hair to the shade of dead wheat stalks, even as the boy made faces into the mirror and giggled.

The young ninja looked down at his motionless captive. "You should have been more careful, Raidou. Breaking into classified documents when you're perfectly aware of how that will look with what's happened in the past?" The interrogator's face was hard as the concrete walls and just as cold.

"You can't justify doing this to an uninvolved Konoha civilian." Raidou grabbed onto that weak thread of logic.

"Of course not," Ibiki agreed casually. "Too bad I don't need to justify anything to anyone." He leaned across the counter and pressed down a switch. "You can start now."

In the shadowy world a few feet away, a masked man entered the room. He must have said something, because Naruto turned to look at him, then shook his head playfully. The man strode over and grabbed the boy's arm, swinging him around with a sharp tug to land hard in the chair. Naruto opened his mouth to say or shout something more, and the interrogator backhanded him across the face. Raidou flinched.

"There's a document on that clipboard," Ibiki said as he watched his assistant bind Naruto's limbs to the chair. "And a brush. All you have to do is sign it. Or, if you prefer, I have a tape recorder here to take down a statement. But please, Namiashi, don't waste my time with innocence."

Raidou followed Ibiki's gesture. A clipboard did indeed lie on the counter among the spread of notepaper and old mint wrappers. An empty coffee mug caught his eye, passively incongruous and slightly disturbing for its mundane sweetness. Brown teddy bears marched around the upper rim, while blue sailboats formed a loop around the base. Between the two patterns, in a child's wide and uneven hand, someone had written 'I Love You Dad' in faded purple marker. The ninja snapped his eyes away and began to buck against his bonds, straining his muscles to escape. Blood began to stain the silver wires as they cut into his skin. Ibiki pulsed a touch of chakra into the restraints, immobilizing Raidou before he could cut his own hands off with the struggle. His eyes were wide, his breath coming fast, as if it were himself facing down the brutality.

Naruto was finally secured, and the white mask turned towards the mirror. "Well?" Ibiki asked, offering Raidou one last chance.

"It's genjutsu." Raidou put all the confidence he had ever had or ever faked into those two words. "The Hokage would never let you do this for real." His muscles quivered against the jutsu holding him still.

Ibiki sighed. "Do you really believe that?"

In answer, Raidou sank his teeth into his bottom lip. Driving his jaw up, he fought to puncture skin and flesh, to dispel with pain the lie before his eyes. Blood spilled down his chin and into his mouth. Nothing changed. "Genjutsu," he insisted in a whisper. "Genjutsu."

Ibiki stretched out an arm and keyed the microphone. "Go ahead." They watched the first blow fall in the disconnected silence of the darkened room. Raidou saw Naruto's head snap sideways, the flesh blossom red in the shape of a gloved palm. Desperation made him give a strangled laugh—open palm; the man wasn't even trying. Tears lined Naruto's eyes, but he refused to let them fall. It was strength of the purest kind, and Raidou nearly screamed to see it.

"Betrayal is a funny word, Raidou," Ibiki mused. He faced his own translucent ghost reflected in the glass. "It all depends on perspective."

"If it were Idate on the other side of that glass, would you sign, Ibiki?" The blood spurting from his perforated lip leaked out of his mouth as he spoke. He nearly choked on the taste.

Black eyes met brown in the glass. Behind the stare, Naruto crumpled over a fist planted in his stomach. "Like I said, Raidou, betrayal is a funny thing." His gaze went through Raidou's reflection, focused on the blue eyes squeezed shut against the tears dripping down whiskered cheeks. "You speak, you betray your friends. You stay silent, you betray your brother. And either way, you've betrayed your village. If it were Idate?" He turned for the first time since it had started and looked Raidou directly in the eyes. "That's why I'm standing here and you're sitting there. It's not."

Something inside Raidou was stretching. He could feel it inside his ribcage. Where his lungs should be, a thin sheet was being pulled to its limits. It was going to rip soon, he knew, and even as he stiffened his neck and tried to hold everything still, he almost wished it would.

Naruto's mouth was open. The two men so close by in the room so far away could tell he was whimpering—that pitiful sound that came after the pain, when the scream had faded but silence still wouldn't come. The white mask took a pace away, glanced at the mirror from which his superior watched intently. The next blow caught the tiny child under the chin.

Interrogator's gloves were different from the standard uniform gloves. They lacked the metal plates riveted across the backs of combat gloves. Down here, the leather was softer, smoother, meant to protect the wearer's hand from bruising rather than stop a blade. Naruto's face was turning the grey of wet ash. He wasn't even trying not to cry anymore.

It snapped. Inside Raidou, whatever it was gave way. _"Stop! For the love of god, Ibiki, stop!"_

"Wait," Ibiki snapped into the microphone. The masked man lowered his fist.

"I'll do it. Just give me the brush." His voice was trembling and bloodstained. Ibiki untwisted one loop of wire and placed the clipboard in his lap. He offered Raidou the already ink-dipped brush. With an unsteady hand, the scarred ninja signed his name.

Ibiki lifted the paper away and checked both the ink signature and chakra print. "Fine." Once more, he switched the microphone on. "You can drop it now, Kurenai."

Raidou's face drained of blood, turning the smooth side pale and the scarred blotchy. He didn't speak as Ibiki released his legs and arms, then led him back to his cell. Over the past few months, he'd tried his best for Naruto. And now his best was all wrong.

He'd never be able to look any of them in the face again.

Sometimes, when everything had gone too far wrong to ever be right, there was still a single way out. In older days, days of righteousness and honor, it was considered atonement.

Now, in these times, in this life, honor was a word and nothing more. But there had to be something to fill that void of purpose, that place in every human soul where the words 'honor' and 'right' used to dwell. No one could live completely empty. And in these times, in this life, what fought for existence in those depths was 'loyalty' and 'duty.'

When you did the unforgivable, and the fragile bridges across the abyss were shattered and burned, it was no longer atonement, but escape. Not rebuilding what was lost, simply plunging into the inevitable darkness before the nothingness could take everything away. Not penitence or an apology or a second chance, just an end.

In the constant light of his cell, he was still breathing. Inside, his heart pumped blood through his body and brain and he was still alive. But in that place that any half-competent medic would gladly inform you did not exist, the tenuous strands that held him together had broken. All he needed, all he _wanted_ now was the steel to make it complete.


	15. Cold

Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto._

A/N: Four and a half months. I have an excuse. It's a good one. Really.

Happy new year.

* * *

The woman had left right away, and Naruto was alone. It was kind of cold, and a crop of goosebumps bloomed on his skin before he rubbed them away. Eventually, the mirror lost its novelty, and he turned to the only furniture in the room.

Boredom set in quickly, and confusion. What was going on? Where was nii-san? Where was the Old Man, who had always fixed things, even if he'd made mistakes about where Naruto should live?

He began practicing the chakra exercises again, for lack of anything else to do. Practice, and worry, and keep practicing. _Practice makes you good enough to survive,_ Raidou had said. Naruto had countered with _Good enough to be Hokage!_ With that in mind, the lonely time passed a little faster.

He was getting better at it, he could tell. Raidou had been coaching him on hand signs; what each meant, how to form them, the correct transitions between. He was still having trouble going from Ram to Dragon; his fingers kept getting tangled. But it was coming faster, and soon maybe Raidou would let him put chakra in, too, and then he could do jutsu! And then he'd be just a step away from Hokage, when he'd never not know where nii-san was, and no one could take him away.

* * *

The room pulsed with conditioned, artificial warmth. Genma knew where he was from the first breath of sterile air. Waking up with a pounding headache where the guard had smashed a fist into his head, he kept his eyes firmly shut. The absence of a thigh holster was immediately registered and filed under the 'oh shit' column. The chakra-bracelet went into 'damn it all to hell.'

Stupid. He'd been stupid. Irrational, impulsive, incoherent with terror so forcefully pushed back that he couldn't see it. Until, now, as he stared into the blackness behind his lids, he admitted that if he opened his eyes and knew that Raidou was _there_ and he was _here_, he'd lose it.

At least the kid was safe. He'd just have to trust Tenzou and Kakashi to know what to do. Trust in the team. He could do that. As long as his eyes stayed shut.

* * *

The cell was just on the wrong side of room temperature. Cold enough to keep him endlessly awake, the air stale from bad circulation and a distinct lack of windows or vents. Raidou pulled his knees up to his chest and stared at the wall, unable to close his eyes. At least Naruto was safe. And the squad. At least it wasn't Genma down here.

Could he leave Naruto alone? After he'd just formed his first real bonds? Was it right to take that path? It was the council's choice, really, now. Uchiha's choice. His life hadn't been his own since he'd accepted the forehead protector so many years ago. But at least he was dying for the village. It was how he'd always known it would end, even if the scenario was not quite what he'd expected.

His attention skittered over the different thoughts; unwilling to delve into any, Raidou waited.

* * *

"Genma."

The voice told him it was Kakashi. He couldn't feel the captain's chakra. "Where's Raidou?"

"I heard too late. Ibiki's in with the Hokage now. Genma, I'm going to take the bracelet off, and then we're walking out of here." Kakashi's brittle monotone, the one that said he had a face in his mind he desperately wanted to put a hole through, soothed Genma like the feel of a kunai handle in his hand.

"With or without permission?"

"I don't care."

Genma half-laughed, and let Kakashi guide him to his feet. The cuff clattered to the floor, and he grabbed Kakashi's shoulder. He walked in darkness from the little white room.

* * *

Kimiko breathed a sigh of relief when she opened the door and found Naruto standing on the stoop with a female ninja. "Naruto! Are you okay?" There was real concern tingeing her voice, and Naruto looked at her with surprise. "I had no idea you'd be gone so long. I thought it—" What had she thought? Not that they would hurt him, and as he mumbled that he was fine, it was confirmed that they hadn't. But if they had hurt him, and the Hokage found out she'd taken money to let him go...

But it had been a mistake, and she knew better now. Everything was okay. "I'm glad you're home. Go upstairs and get changed for bed."

He trudged up slowly, reluctant to once again be shut out of knowing what was happening. It'd been a long day: school, then the frantic search for Raidou, returning to the house only to be dragged away by strangers to an empty room and brought back again with no explanation. The woman in red hadn't talked to him on the walk home, and he still didn't know where nii-san had gone.

Naruto brushed his teeth with the blue toothbrush Kimiko had given him, and pulled Raidou's big yellow t-shirt over his head. For a moment, he left his face in the fabric, breathing in metal and cedar, but only for a moment. The window in his small room looked out over the thin slice of sickly grass behind the building, and he put his back to the darkness as he plopped himself down on his bed with his school shuriken and a polishing cloth spread around his knees. He still had school tomorrow, and sensei always checked their weapons before practice.

* * *

The council was still assembled. In the windowless meeting room, they hadn't noticed when the sun set or the moon began to rise.

Sarutobi had sent the messenger from Kusa out after he'd delivered his message, without giving him an answer. Now he raked his eyes across the silent council. "Opinions?"

One of the civilian representatives spoke first. He was a solid, honest man whose grip on politics was sadly lacking. "We should keep out of their disputes! It was bad enough last time; the village can't take another war!"

"They'd be indebted to us if we sent them a few squads. That could be useful," Hyuuga Hiashi said, as if the other had never spoken.

Uchiha frowned. "Iwa would want retribution. Do you want to risk that?"

"It would be to our advantage if Iwa were contained," Sarutobi pointed out. "They were weakened by the war, but Kusa probably has more reliable data on their current strength than even we do."

"Let Grass deal with them," Uchiha appealed to the rest of the table. "They will fight Iwa whether or not we help. So why make the deaths our own?"

"They've had to recruit missing-nin just to clean up their own territory," one of the elders reminded them in his harsh, crackly voice. "Kusa's not even strong enough to have a Kage. They were completely overrun by Iwa last time, and that was before they lost half their forces and had their whole country razed. Without us, they don't stand a chance."

"So let them destroy each other," Fugaku suggested. "By the time Iwa gets control over Kusa again, they'll be weak enough to take down without sacrificing too many of our own people."

"Too many?" Hiashi repeated softly. "How many is too many to you, Uchiha?"

"Can't we just stay out of war completely?" one of the civilians squawked.

A discreet tapping on the door to the chamber interrupted them. Black and white eyes left each other with identical lingering, challenging glares to appraise the intrusion. A dark-haired chuunin entered, followed by Ibiki. The chuunin bent over to whisper in the Hokage's ear. He pulled back, and they both glanced over at the interrogator.

Sarutobi dismissed the chuunin with a gesture. If he had been anyone other than the Hokage, he would have been smiling. Hiashi caught the predatory look in his commander's eyes, and stiffened just slightly. "Morino-san. We have a few things to sort out; if you could wait for a moment?"

"Yes, sir," Ibiki murmured, stepping back to stand against the wall.

Sarutobi faced the council again. "Morino-san has some news to discuss. However, how we deal with Kusa takes precedence. Hyuuga-san. You suggest sending squads to reinforce the Iwa-Kusa border as a deterrent, correct?"

Hiashi inclined his head. It was close enough. Phrasing it so would pull in those wishing to curry favor with the Hyuuga. He settled back in his seat slightly, ready to watch his Hokage twist the council around his finger.

Sarutobi steepled his hands in front of his face. "Four jounin-chuunin squads, and three ANBU squads. That totals thirty-five ninja."

"We can't spare that many people!" someone exclaimed.

Sarutobi slipped a pleasant smile across his face. "I'll require a reworking of the trade clauses in the last treaty for the assistance. We can loosen the restrictions on produce, medicines, and merchandise. That will repay the lost mission revenue easily in the long term."

"And if Iwa takes your 'deterrent' as a challenge?" Fugaku asked. "Then what?"

Sarutobi wasn't so crass as to look towards Ibiki. "If they were confident enough to be aggressive towards us, Uchiha-san, it wouldn't matter if we stood with Kusa or not. However, we may be able to prevent Grass country from being destroyed again. "

"Why do we care about Grass?" Fugaku snapped. "When it's our own people who are going to be fighting?" When it was his clan that was going to be decimated, again.

"Kusa doesn't want a war, Uchiha-san," the Hokage reminded him. "They're trying to protect themselves from Iwa by cleaning out Rock's strongholds and advantages in their territory. We will simply help them _prevent_ fighting. Do you see, Uchiha-san?" And here was where the agreeable tone didn't change, and Uchiha's eyes didn't flicker towards the corner.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Fugaku's hands tightened in his lap. He wasn't immune to extortion, and Sarutobi wasn't above it.

And here was where Sarutobi had the whole council in the palm of his hand. Even the civilians, placated by a lightening of trade limitations, followed along.

Sarutobi let the smile he'd been holding in creep across his face. The two main factions with power in the council were agreeing, the rest were being led like sheep. Maybe he could get some village reforms through on this bubble of cooperation. The Academy graduation age, for one, which was far, far too low. Uchiha had been one of the main opponents of raising the age. And if he let the classes closest to graduating keep the old rules, they'd have sufficient manpower if Iwa did retaliate. It could work.

By the end of the next two hours, Sarutobi had gotten the council to approve more measures than in all the last forty days. Uchiha was shooting glances at Ibiki, still standing stolidly against the wall, and Hiashi was almost not-frowning.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and stretched his crackling joints. "Well, I think we can let the messenger stop stewing now. Thirty ninja to patrol the Rock border as peacekeepers." He'd lowered the number to get the district representatives to agree to a village-wide rebuilding ordinance. "And Kusa to rewrite all treaties by sending an envoy to us." Heads nodded around the long table. "Ibiki-san." Fugaku's eyes sharpened.

"Hokage-sama?" The tall teenager stepped forward and bowed.

"Tell the chuunin outside to send the messenger in. And bring Namiashi to my office. I'll deal with him next."

Fugaku leaned forward. "Has he confessed, Sarutobi?"

The Hokage arched a fuzzy eyebrow, his wizened face hard. "The premises you presented to me earlier are now quite clearly incorrect, Uchiha-san. As Kusa was not pressing aggression against us, Namiashi could not have been aiding them in such an endeavor. And while I appreciate your concern for the village's safety in its time of need, since the situation has been resolved there is no need for a continued investment of time and labor into an obsolete course of action. Isn't that so, Uchiha-san?"

Fugaku blinked. He'd been tricked. The table creaked under the sudden pressure of his hands. His jaw muscles bulged as he fought the words, and they came out harsh and furious. "Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi smiled.

* * *

They were waiting for him when Ibiki walked him up from underground. Raidou kept his eyes on the dirt, leaning away from Ibiki's grip on his arm. Tenzou moved, as if to step forward, but Kakashi caught his wrist. Their chakra pressed in on him, but he didn't look up.

"The Hokage is waiting for you in his office," Ibiki said quietly.

Raidou gave a half-nod, and kept his empty gaze down. A one-handed seal, a pull on shivery chakra, and he was gone.

"Taichou..." Tenzou began.

"Go home." Kakashi glanced at Genma, and added, "Or wait at the Hokage Tower if you can't do that." Then he repeated Raidou's gesture, and disappeared.

* * *

There was only one place Raidou was going to go. He didn't care that the Hokage was waiting.

He appeared in a dark street, on the civilian side of town. He slipped through the space between two buildings, and onto the strip of pale grass that passed for a yard behind the leftmost house. A light was on in a second-floor window, and Raidou noted automatically how clear a target the occupant was, framed against that yellow glow. The boy needed to be more careful.

Raidou stayed in the shadows, craning his head up to see in. It looked right. But he'd been lied to too much lately. He stretched out his chakra, probing in towards the figure.

The chakra presence he encountered was bright and cool, with an underlying scrape of steel wool on his senses; almost soft, but stripping slice after thin slice away as it rubbed against him and leaving a raw-throat metal tang behind. In a strange way, it _felt_ crimson. Naruto. No one could reproduce that feeling, the faint tinge of the Kyuubi permeating his aura, and Raidou doubted anyone had ever cared enough to try.

Naruto, the real Naruto, was here. He breathed a quick bite of relief. With nothing left to do, Raidou faded away into the shadows.

There was motion at the window, as Naruto untangled his legs and scrambled to his feet, scattering shuriken across the bedcovers. On the roof, a shadow grew a shade lighter.

* * *

The training ground was empty, at two in the morning. The stars were bright, here, away from the lights of the town. A crescent moon augmented their thin glow. Raidou sat at the base of a tree, letting the shadows swallow him whole. The celestial wash did not manage to reach under there, nor to catch the edge of the newly withdrawn kunai.

The thick green vest crumpled between his back and the bark as he unzipped it and slipped his arms out. He reversed his grip on the hilt of the knife.

His head swung back and knocked against the wood. He didn't want to do this. He still had a life, still had dreams and goals and a family.

Broken trust couldn't heal. His team didn't know yet, but he could no longer trust himself. It didn't matter that he did it for Naruto. It didn't matter _why_.

Deep blue cloth separated into useless, dangling strands under the lightest of pressures. His hand began to tremble.

Still had everything. Friends and hope and love.

Couldn't heal. There was no second chance.

Still had—

Crimson.

"_Raidou-nii-san!"_ The stars bleached his hair to white, his eyes to silver. He ran out of the trees across the field and arrowed in on Raidou, even hidden by the dark.

The kunai tumbled from Raidou's hands; a single drip of blood buried itself in the dirt. The boy dropped to his knees beside him and wrapped his arms around his neck. "You didn't come today," he accused. "You said you'd come practice and you didn't."

It startled him; how had only a day passed? "Sorry," he exhaled.

"You were the one who said plans were so important. But you didn't tell me you weren't coming. I was scared," he whispered.

"Sorry," Raidou murmured again, and tentatively lifted an arm, draping it around Naruto. The child snuggled up against his side and squeezed him more tightly. "Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you come?"

"I felt you there," Naruto murmured into his chest. "Outside. You weren't happy. I missed you."

He must have felt the chakra brush, Raidou surmised. He lifted a hand and laid it on Naruto's head. Children weren't supposed to be that sensitive yet. "You don't need to worry, Naruto."

The boy let himself slide down until he lay across Raidou lap, pressing his head up into the fingers that began to comb softly through his hair. "Stay here," Naruto mumbled into Raidou's shirt. "Don't go away again."

Raidou nodded. Slowly, slowly, his body stopped shuddering. The dark, rioting tension drained away. Raidou kept smoothing his hand across Naruto's head as the minutes passed and the boy's breathing slowed. Curled against Raidou's side, head on Raidou's stomach, the child fell asleep.

For a while, there was nothing to disturb them. And under the shadows of a tall, wide-leafed tree, in the soft embrace of night breezes, he didn't have to think.

* * *

The man didn't try and hide his approach. Raidou tracked him by the soft footsteps and light breathing, until he crouched down in the middle of the open field and extended an empty hand. "I thought I'd find you here."

Raidou, his arm curved protectively around Naruto, didn't answer.

"I won't stay long," Matsuda said. His voice slipped under the sounds of the night rather than penetrating them, the swirl at the bottom of a clear stream that spreads out and disappears into the waters before the color ever has a chance to reveal itself as brown or red. "I have a promise to keep."

He hooked a chain out from under the collar of his black shirt; metal clinked. The sliver light seemed to come from the air rather than the sky as it reflected off his pale face and hands, shedding impenetrable shadows into the hollows of his eyes and mouth. Matsuda broke the necklace with his fingers. His dogtags fell glittering to his knees. The chain dripped down his chest in a mercurial stream.

"I told sensei I wouldn't let you die." The two plain rings he now held in his palm looked like pure silver, though Raidou knew they were old, battered steel. He was too far away to make even the shape out clearly, but he still felt he could see the scratch cutting across the outer edge of one, where she'd tried to block a kunai with her bare hand and nearly lost two fingers.

"He wasn't asking for forever," Raidou finally answered.

"No." The dark holes in Matsuda's face gaped emptily, but the tone belied the shadows. "But a promise is a promise." For a moment, his fingers closed over the rings. "I'll still never forgive you."

"No."

Matsuda rose and the moonlight glistened in his eyes for a moment. The rings dropped into Raidou's hand with a soft jingle. They were warm from contact with Matsuda's skin. "I don't understand why you would save the demon, but not your own teammate," he whispered.

Raidou's eyes met his silently, faces floating between them in accusation and regret.

Matsuda turned away. "You owe me a life, Raidou. And until the Hokage claims it, you will repay me with yours."

After the man disappeared into the trees, Raidou bent his head and cried silently, dripping tears into the sleeping boy's hair.

* * *

A/N #2: You get explanations of the history later. I decided to just get the chapter up, before something new steals away all my time.

As always, it is probably going to get edited again. Eventually.


	16. Epilogue

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto_. This was written for entertainment purposes only._

**Important A/N: **Uh, hey. So it's September, and I promised to be done with this year+ project. Considering the fact that I ended the last chapter in such an unexplained place, the story needs closure. What you have here is a 456 word epilogue. This is not a chapter. This is an explanation of a little history, and a little future. So enjoy it for what it is, and flesh it out with a little imagination.

_

* * *

Epilogue _

It was easier to resign than he expected. They didn't want him to, not the Hokage, not Genma, not Tenzou or Hayate or even Aoba, but they understood, and they let him go.

Kakashi just looked him in the eye and nodded silently.

They stayed in Seijuro's basement while Raidou found the apartment: four rooms plus a bathroom, in a well-kept-up building not too far from the western gate. Raidou tried for mostly in-village missions, or short ones if he had to leave. When they were overnight jobs, Naruto stayed with Seijuro.

They managed. His paychecks dropped significantly from before; fewer missions, lower class-level. His expenses increased, now that he was paying bills and food for two people. But he had savings from his years in ANBU, and they managed.

He drilled Naruto on techniques when he came back from school, made sure he did his homework and practiced his calligraphy. They went to movies, and to the park. He went to parent-teacher meetings, ignoring the sidelong glances and cold shoulders with a strength that Naruto noticed, even if Raidou didn't.

And he did notice when Naruto began carrying his head higher, his shoulders straighter.

* * *

It wasn't all good. He woke, sometimes, in the night, fearful because the squad's chakra signatures were nowhere near. He missed the missions and craved the adrenaline, the absolute awareness of self. When he found himself picking fights just for the rush, he took a two-week A-class. He left a change of clothes at Seijuro's place, and showered there before he went home.

* * *

The day after he resigned from ANBU, before he cleared out his things, he searched out Matsuda. He was wearing two wide, steel rings on his hand, his own and his teacher's. "This is yours."

Matsuda enfolded the third, nicked ring in his hand. No other words, and they went their own ways.

Their genin team had been no different from any other. Tension, competition, a little bit of young love. The rings had been a rather sentimental gift from their sensei, when they first became a team.

The war chewed them up and left them for dead when they were barely chuunin. Chizu died because of Raidou, and not even he would deny it. Tsushima-sensei was killed in the same skirmish—four jounin against three chuunin and their teacher, no contest. Raidou lost half his face, and Matsuda lost the only girl he'd yet managed to love.

* * *

The last day, standing outside the ANBU building in the pink glow of the rising sun, his squad and his friends flush from the farewell party, the last box under his arm and his hand in Naruto's, Raidou thought that this was not how he had expected to leave ANBU.

But it was certainly better.

* * *

_A/N the Second_: If there are terrible typos in there, it's because I'm really tired...so please forgive. But since my Internet and my time are all going bye-bye very soon, this is probably the best I can post for a while at least.

Info:

The whole Raidou/Matsuda backstory may possibly go up in a separate document, or as an addendum to this at some point in the future. (like everything else, it's a lot more than what's told here.)

There are a whole bunch of short pieces I've written that chronicle the years between where this story leaves off and when Naruto graduates Academy. Same deal as for the Raidou backstory.

And in terms of the massive revision I've been attempting: it's turning out a hell of a lot darker than I intended. And longer. And it's straying from the outline, so I can't re-use stuff straight up from here. If anyone is interested in it, I may post the first few chapters and some of the scenes from later on (because I like it a whole lot more than this version). But whether or not it will ever be finished is very up in the air.

Lastly: **Thank you** _**all**_ for reading, and reviewing, and sticking with this through the massive waits and the changes and my apparent inability to follow a schedule. It has meant a lot to me. You've been awesome.


	17. Chapter 1 Again

Well. Hello again. The past three months have felt a whole lot longer than they ought. But what you have here is the first chapter of . . . the revised version! Hurrah. Two chapters of this are complete, and scattered scenes from the rest. For now, this will stay posted at the back of the original version, but it is meant to be read as an alternative, not as a continuation or perspective. This is partially up as motivation for me to keep writing it...we'll see if it works.

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

Homura placed the sheaf of documents down on the polished table with the barest whisper of paper and sat back. Koharu, leaning on the cushions beside him, sniffed and adjusted her robes. "Not surprising, considering."

Sarutobi, hands clasped behind him as he faced the curtained window, sighed. "No." He waited, unwilling to turn to face his two friends, and the damning intelligence written up in perfect calligraphy on the pages between them.

"We ought," Koharu continued in her raspy voice, "to deal with them promptly and completely. Before," and she leaned forward to tap emphatically on the report, "it becomes any more of an issue."

"The agent is trustworthy?" Homura broke in. "You are sure?"

Sarutobi favored him with a reproachful glance. "Of course." He would trust this agent with his life. He _was_ trusting this agent with the lives of everyone in his village. But of course, "And I have two shadows checking everything he submits."

"Then we must act," Koharu reiterated. "Now." She flipped a few pages in the file and stabbed a manicured nail at one line.

Homura pulled his glasses down to read around her arm. "Koharu, you may be being a little hasty. This is nothing more than suspicion."

She raised plucked, grizzled eyebrows at him. "And where did waiting get us during the war? We made difficult decisions on suspicions then, and we saved lives."

"Enough." Sarutobi cut her off. "This is not wartime. We worked hard for peace, remember." He strode to the table, bent down, and closed the file firmly. When he frowned at both of them, Koharu met his gaze challengingly. Homura stretched.

"It is your choice, Hokage-sama," he acquiesced. "But do not wait too long. We may not be at war, but peace is not so different."

* * *

The conference room had no windows. In general, such rooms lacked windows. The intelligence agent presiding—the handler for this squad since his predecessor had retired a year ago with flair and invective—massaged his forehead with long fingers. "Look. I know how much he meant to you all. He was my friend, too."

Three eyes regarded him flatly. The other two pairs were focused varyingly on fingernails and the ceiling. None of the owners of the eyes, sitting in straight-backed chairs around the long table, pointed out the obvious fact that Masaru had hated the Intel man's guts.

He sighed. "Nevertheless, you need to accept a temporary replacement. I've pulled several names of agents who would fit well in your squad. The floater pool has excellent shinobi." He pushed the pile of files towards the captain. "Take a look."

The captain poked the stacked folders deliberately with one scarred fingertip. "Raidou. Do you think we need to accept a temporary replacement?" he asked, leaving his challenging gaze on the Intel agent.

His squadmate pretended to consider. "Well, Kakashi-taichou, if I remember right, the last time we were assigned a floater, he died, failed the mission, and our handler said we ought never be given anyone like that again." He crossed his arms on the table. "Before your time, Niigata-san. So, I'd say, no we don't."

Kakashi's stone grey eye shut in a smug smile. "See, sir? Raidou has a very good memory."

"Aw, fuck off, Daichi," the shinobi with his chair tipped back to view the ceiling added. "You know you can't make us."

Niigata Daichi favored the man with a withering glance—completely wasted, as Genma was still counting bumps in the plaster. "I am well aware of your situation." If they weren't going to be cooperative, he wasn't going to waste the effort to be nice. "But without a fifth member, you will be off squad rotation. I have the authority to assign whomever I see fit."

A harsh cough interrupted his snapped words. For the first time, all attention was focused exclusively on one person. The only one present who had yet failed to speak drew a shaky breath. "Sorry, captain," he rasped. Kakashi frowned, visible only in the barest drawing down of an eyebrow and the narrowing of his eye.

Niigata waited for Hayate to catch his breath. "Or, I can put a provisional hold on assignments for the squad, treating you all as individual agents." He gave them a strained smile. "But sliding that past the Head is going to take a hell of an incentive, and it isn't going to be pretty."

The remnants, the four out of five who'd managed to come back, exchanged looks. Niigata watched the conversation pass between them in a few silent seconds. But he'd known the answer even before he posed the question.

"Split the squad, sir," Kakashi answered for all of them. "And get us a permanent member." Kakashi's tone said _fast_. The set of Raidou's jaw, the slack around Genma's eyes, the way Hayate couldn't meet anyone's gaze, said _now._

Niigata watched them file from the room with an almost parental mixture of pride and frustration. Damn idiots. Squad Fourteen was too stubborn and too close-knit for its own good. But then again, whose fault was that? He gathered up his stack of files, and leaned against the wall until he was sure the four would be out of the hall.

He didn't know whose bright idea it had been, originally, to concentrate so many of ANBU's worst fuck-ups in one squad. And even after a year of working with them, he still wasn't sure if it had been a stroke of brilliance or a complete folly. He shut the door behind himself, and headed off in the opposite direction from the four shinobi, deeper into the maze of offices and hallways dedicated to ANBU's Intelligence Branch.

No, their stubbornness was not a blessing at the moment. None of them was going to like the next few months. He hadn't been lying when he said it would take a hell of a reason to convince the Head to wait for a stable replacement before redeploying Squad 14. Well, not stable in _that _sense.

He stopped, before he reached his own office, at the filing room devoted to unresolved requests. It took a key, a chakra test, and the approval of the guards to get in there. Niigata passed through easily. The closest shelves, marked "Urgent," were mostly empty. Against the back wall, a row of "Outstanding" was separated by type, and coded by requester, mission rank, and date. He took the entire top left section. "Sorry, Kakashi," he muttered, and tucked the sealed folders beneath his free arm.

This would be enough for the Head to agree to a few months. Months that, perhaps, would be enough time that they would be able to let someone take Masaru's place.

* * *

Outside in the sunlight, Hayate leaned against the rough wall of the building and hacked painfully into his elbow. The three others stood in a loose semicircle around him, feeling inadequate. After a minute the shallow, ragged breaths he managed between coughs began to smooth out.

"Someone should go see his family," Raidou said reluctantly. "Right?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his neck, and Genma fiddled with the senbon between his teeth. "Um."

"I already did," Hayate murmured. He pushed away from the wall and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants. He was past caring about the extra seconds the position added to his reaction time. "Yesterday." Kakashi-taichou had been at the monument, and Hayate hadn't wanted to be in the room when Genma woke up from the drugs the nurses had administered the night before. That was Raidou's job.

"Oh." Raidou tried not to feel resentful. It shouldn't have taken him this long to think of Masaru's family, not since Hayate already had. "How are they taking it?"

"As well as can be expected." Hayate cleared his throat, and rubbed at his chest. "They weren't thrilled to see me."

Kakashi moved first. "Unsurprising," he drawled without really thinking. But his hand hesitated in its automatic reach for his orange paperback. They looked lost, gathered on the sickly grass outside the Intelligence offices. If Masaru were here, he'd be snapping Genma out of his lingering dream haze with some ridiculous accusation, dragging Raidou off by the arm to lose at poker, setting himself and his latest girlfriend up with Hayate and Yuugao on a double date. If Masaru were here, they'd all be going their separate ways into the maze of buildings that formed the ANBU compound, confident in themselves and each other.

Without him, they stood confused, aimless. Four out of five. Kakashi felt like he should say something. Something inspiring, reassuring, consoling. Something to bring them back together. "Be at the field tomorrow."

They nodded. "Yes, captain."

He turned away.

* * *

Niigata found them at the training field. They were sparring, Kakashi with Raidou, Hayate with Genma, hitting a little harder than was quite necessary. He watched for a minute, leaning casually against a tree trunk, until someone's exploding doton jutsu shattered the branches above him. He leapt out of the way, shoulders dusted in only a few splinters of wood, and yelled at the squad. "Hey! Hold it up!"

Hayate and Genma pulled apart immediately. Raidou ducked under one of Kakashi's arms and planted a fist in his chest. The younger ninja grabbed Raidou's forearm in two hands. "Hey!" Niigata roared.

Kakashi squeezed, and for the briefest moment Daichi feared he would break his teammate's arm. Then the intensity faded, he let go, and both jumped backwards.

Kakashi slouched over to the Intel man, hooking his thumbs over the rolled seam at the bottom of his armored vest. Raidou followed, shaking genjutsu from his hands. "What do you want?" Kakashi asked for them all, favoring the handler with an unenthusiastic eye.

"You, I need to see in my office," he ordered Kakashi. He tossed a scroll at Genma, "Mission. The medics won't clear _you_ for duty until next week," he informed Hayate. "And this is for you," Daichi finished, handing the second scroll to Raidou. He recoiled sharply when his fingers accidentally brushed Raidou's, the skin of his torso and face stinging. Raidou twitched as well at the unexpected discharge of chakra. Then one side of his mouth twisted up in a smirk at Niigata's reaction.

The analyst recovered quickly. He clasped his hands in a discreet release, banishing the echoes of genjutsu. "The next examination period for recruits is in forty days. I suggest you all be back by then." They would just have to hope that someone suitable passed in this cohort.

Genma snapped open his scroll with an elegant flick of his wrist. "Recon? This is a fucking recon mission!" He scanned the rest of the assignment. "Shit," he moaned.

Hayate stood on tiptoes to read over his shoulder. "Heh. A month in northern Wind Country. It's all mud up there, Genma."

"I know," the older shinobi retorted snippily.

Raidou worked his way through his scroll silently. The blue tag tied to one end indicated an in-village mission; at least he wouldn't be slogging through a meter of mud for the next month. Surveillance, protection detail. Not too bad of a duty, especially considering the squad's current position at the utter lowest level of the mission pecking order. He even had the daytime shift. Then he found the name of the target.

Uzumaki Naruto.


End file.
